**3. Challenges to the integration of new and innovative technology solutions into higher education**

Globalization and competition between institutions in the technology race are the two key factors contributing to the adoption of technology in higher education. However, there are various barriers to integrate technology into higher education provision. Preference for academic traditions, such as faculty/classroom-centred lectures, and mean many lecturers/professors, is reluctant to adopt technologybased alternative instructional methods. Limited support for faculty members in learning to use these technologies is another factor inhibiting their usage in higher education [34]. In particular, the lack of effective policies, inadequate

#### *Embracing Technological Change in Higher Education DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.100431*

infrastructural facilities, and the absence of plans of action by institutions in developing and under-developed countries have been identified as obstacles to the implementation of new technologies [35]. Barriers can also be identified in specific to a technology being used in the higher education. For instance, regarding gamification technology, various inhibiting factors, including inflexibility of curricula, the negative effects of gaming, students' lack of readiness, lack of supporting materials, fixed class schedules, and limited budgets, have been identified as hindering its usage in classrooms [36]. Meeting the increasing expectations of the students is another challenge that has been identified in the context of integrating technology into higher education [35]. Children and young adults nowadays are particularly influenced by the technologies surrounding them. For instance, generation alpha, i.e., children born in 2010; the year in which iPad was launched, is used to the technologies that embrace IoT. Children of that generation are increasingly being brought up in smart homes with smart speakers, such as Amazon Alexa or Google Home, which are changing the way they access information. Furthermore, some students are creating their own apps in high schools, which clearly indicate the high levels of technology skills among the current generation of students. Hence, it is only to be expected that students will demand the same types of technology they experience in smart homes to be available in their classrooms and universities. This has led to it becoming mandatory for universities to upgrade to new technologies and smart devices that are redefining the ways of learning. However, meeting the rising expectations of students has become one of the major challenges for universities, with upgrading to integrate the new technologies in the learning process requiring a huge investment. Moreover, managing such technologies requires major changes to infrastructure, processes and policies, administrative systems, and pedagogic approaches [37–39]. Lack of funding, increasing operational costs, and lack of state/public support have been inhibiting the implementation of technology solutions in universities and colleges in the past few years [40]; however, few countries, such as Japan, have substantially increased funding for universities to address the above mentioned concerns [41].

With new innovative technologies being integrated into higher education, the risks to privacy and security have been growing. There is a need to draw a line regarding the number of students' private information that a university holds [35]. Unregulated processes and the use of innovative technologies, such as AI, may raise concerns of privacy and about the interests and influence of corporates in accessing the data due to invisible, biased, and inaccurate logic or data [42]. Furthermore, with the rapid increase in the amount of information being collected using AI technologies, such as students' learning behaviour, it is becoming increasingly complex to secure the data. In some cases, the less the information, the easier it is to protect, for when there is overload, the security of information held by the institutions may be at risk. Moreover, technology is also impacting the role of faculty in significant ways. Academics can use technology to prepare for classes, conduct research, and deliver instructions. A fundamental shift in faculty duties can be observed with the integration of technology. Faculty are observed as consultants and coaches rather than subject experts as students have multiple platforms for learning. Furthermore, the idea of the university such as accredited institutions with no campus, classrooms, or athletic teams to tie together the academic community has been changing with increasing opportunities for e-learning. With quick and unpredictable changes in technology, challenges in systematic planning of technological enhancement to educational programmes and catching up with new technologies are increasing, as a adequate number of resources are required for training faculty, updating operational changes, and managing them. Furthermore, technology has been transforming

business sectors, with more companies relying on automation, which has significantly been putting pressure on the jobs market. However, there are new opportunities emerging with the advances in technology, where human resources are required. Addressing this volatility has become a challenge for the universities to feed the ever-changing pipeline of opportunities, in preparing new courses that impart the right skills and knowledge for students to be employable. Technology may not reap its full potential and may not be effectively integrated into higher education, if the barriers to its adoption discussed in this section are not resolved satisfactorily by institutions.
