Institutional Competencies for Teaching Innovation in Light of Neo-learning in Public Higher Education Institutions (HEIs)

Abstract

This article presents a set of competencies for public Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) aimed at fostering teaching innovation through the lens of Neo-learning. In the face of digital transformations and the new demands of the knowledge society regarding educational innovation, HEIs are shifting from being mere transmitters of information to becoming learning organizations that dynamically manage their intellectual capital. The study adopted a qualitative approach, including a systematic literature review and documentary analysis, which identified 36 competencies and 59 descriptions distributed across four dimensions: seven competencies in the Legal aspect, twelve in the Strategic, eleven in the Pedagogical, and seven in the Neo-learning dimension itself. Semi-structured interviews with ten senior administrators (rectors and vice-rectors) from two Brazilian public universities (UFSC and UDESC) validated the identified competencies. The discussion integrates these competencies as essential mechanisms for innovation, establishing connections with theories of organizational learning, andragogy, heutagogy, and twenty-first-century education. The integrated development of these competencies enables HEIs to adapt proactively, fostering a virtuous cycle of innovation in public education.

 Keywords: institutional competencies; neo-learning; educational innovation; higher education.