CHALLENGES, REQUIREMENTS, OPPORTUNITIES AND SOLUTIONS FOR THE DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION OF THE TRANSPORT EDUCATION

The digital transformation impacted many aspects of the everyday human live. This global phenomenon changed almost all industries and has led to improved working efficiency, overall enhancements of many activities and processes and the establishment of many new professions. The transition into the digital era was fuelled by the vast development, the wide acceptance and the increased use of many new technologies, devices and solutions. Nevertheless, the digital transformation has also resulted in new challenges and has defined new difficulties, which have to be addressed. The transport sector was no exception to the transformation processes and was also significantly impacted by them. Many new technologies for monitoring, control and optimization of the aerial, land and water traffic have been developed and are currently widely used. The paradigms and the leading technologies of the digital transformation, like Big Data, Internet of Things, 5G mobile connectivity, Artificial Intelligence, Information systems and many others have been adapted and integrated in the different transport-related processes and activities. While this transformation resulted in increased income, better traffic management, safer and faster transportation services and reduced workloads for the involved staff, it has also put the transport education sector into a difficult and challenging position - the present-day digital transportation technologies demand the transformation of many traditional educational courses into multidisciplinary IT-oriented subjects. In its own turn, the integration of these new courses requires the purchase and use of specialized equipment and devices, the constant adaptation and improvement of the educational materials and the regular requalification of the teaching staff. In this article, we present and investigate some of the challenges, requirements, opportunities and solutions for the transition of the education in transport into the digital age. The various modern IT-related technologies and solutions in the transport sector are presented, analysed and discussed in details in the manuscript. Last, but not least, we have summarized and discussed the present challenges and requirements for the education processes in the area of the transport education.