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Examining IT Infrastructures for Learning and Teaching in the European University Alliance Unite!

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In the digital era, European University Alliances like "Unite!" work to reshape tertiary education by bridging nine prominent universities to champion regional integration, technology transfer, and quality science and engineering education. This paper delineates the methodologies used to harmonize varied IT infrastructures visualizations and descriptions across partner institutions, fostering knowledge sharing and facilitating standardized IT landscape comparisons. The absence of a general universal approach in representing teaching-related IT systems in higher education propelled the development of a unique, synchronized representation methodology. The paper offers a look at TU Graz's digital infrastructure as an illustrative example. Through iterative collaboration, the alliance will develop a comprehensive IT infrastructure report, aiming to serve as a valuable blueprint for other educational entities.
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Examining IT Infrastructures for Learning and
Teaching in the European University Alliance
Unite!
Martin Ebner1, Sandra Schön1 , Jesus Alcober2, Roberto Bertonasco3,
Katharina Gasplmayr1, Agnieszka Herczak-Ciara4, Christian Hoppe5, Etienne
Langevin6, Romain Laurent6, Philipp Leitner1, Juha Martikainen7, Joakim
Petersson8, Nina Reignier-Tayar6, Fernando M. da Silva9, Klaus Steitz5,
Behnam Taraghi1, and Astrid Würz5
1 Graz University of Technology, Austria,
2 Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya, Spain
3 Politecnico Di Torino, Italy
4 Wrocław University of Science and Technology
5 Technical University of Darmstadt
6 Grenoble INP graduate school of engineering and management, University Grenoble Alpes
7 Aalto University
8 KTH Royal Institute of Technology
9 Universidade de Lisboa
martin.ebner@tugraz.at
Abstract
In the digital era, European University Alliances like "Unite!" work to reshape tertiary
education by bridging nine prominent universities to champion regional integration,
technology transfer, and quality science and engineering education. This paper delineates
the methodologies used to harmonize varied IT infrastructures visualizations and
descriptions across partner institutions, fostering knowledge sharing and facilitating
standardized IT landscape comparisons. The absence of a general universal approach in
representing teaching-related IT systems in higher education propelled the development
of a unique, synchronized representation methodology. The paper offers a look at TU
Graz's digital infrastructure as an illustrative example. Through iterative collaboration,
the alliance will develop a comprehensive IT infrastructure report, aiming to serve as a
valuable blueprint for other educational entities.
EPiC Series in Computing
Volume 105, 2025, Pages 276–283
Proceedings of EUNIS 2024 annual congress in Athens
R. Vogl, L. Desnos, J.-F. Desnos, S. Bolis, L. Merakos, G. Ferrell, E. Tsili and M. Roumeliotis (eds.), EUNIS
2024 (EPiC Series in Computing, vol. 105), pp. 276–283
1 Introduction
In our rapidly evolving digital age, the significance of education and collaboration has grown
immensely. The concept of “European Universities” transnational alliances working towards
shaping the future of tertiary education has gained traction. These alliances, while aiming to bolster
European values and identity, also aspire to elevate the quality and competitiveness of higher education
in Europe, incorporating aspects like the inter-university campus (European Commission, 2023).
The European Alliance “Unite!” (see https://www.unite-university.eu/) exemplifies this drive,
merging nine esteemed universities: Technical University of Darmstadt, Aalto University, Graz
University of Technology (TU Graz), Grenoble INP graduate school of engineering and management,
University Grenoble Alpes, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Politecnico Di Torino, Universidade
de Lisboa, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya BarcelonaTech, and Wrocław University of Science
and Technology. Located in strategic European regions recognized for economic acumen, innovation,
and entrepreneurship, they collectively champion regional integration, technology knowledge transfer,
and superior education in science and engineering, drawing from their multidisciplinary strengths.
Three core platforms were developed during the early Erasmus+ funding phase: the Unite! Website,
offering a centralized communication hub; the Unite! uShare, a shared data platform for alliance
members; and the “Metacampus” built on Moodle, designed to facilitate the construction of an
interoperable and federated learning platform across several universities and support future learning
experiences (Alcober Segura et al., 2021; Alcober Segura et al., 2022). The evolution and enhancements
of these platforms are well-articulated by Alcober and Mohammadali (2023).
To harmonize the varied IT backgrounds across the partner institutions, an initiative was launched
in November 2022 to capture comprehensive infrastructure representations. This effort aimed to
promote a systematic description of each partner landscape, facilitating knowledge sharing and the
identification of common building blocks and processes of all partner institutions.
In this paper, we outline the methodologies applied to obtain these holistic IT infrastructure
representations. Our goal is to provide valuable insights for similar undertakings, ensuring they can
leverage our experiences and findings. For the Unite! alliance, crafting concise and insightful IT
representations was paramount, ensuring they are understandable to external entities and standardized
for comparison. The full results of our methodology, but not the approach itself, are described in Ebner
et al. (2024).
2 State of the Art: About the development of systematic
descriptions and comparison of learning and teaching IT
infrastructures in higher education
The concept of “digital campus” emerged not only to emphasize the inadequacy of learning
management systems, but also to underscore the necessity for a “sustainable digital infrastructure for
future campuses” (Kerres, 2004, p. 1). Today, the “digital campus” not only pertains to universities but
also encapsulates the digital workspaces of companies and organizations (Unity.de, 2023). Within our
working group, the focus is squarely on the IT infrastructure supporting teaching and learning in the
first run.
Subsequently, we present examples demonstrating potential representations of such infrastructures.
The portrayal of IT landscapes, or digital campuses, of educational institutions can be approached from
varied viewpoints. For instance, Moșteanu (2021) delineates the distinctions between students’
perspectives and administrative viewpoints (refer to Figure 1).
Examining IT Infrastructures for Learning and Teaching in the EUAU S. Schön et al.
277
Figure 1: Variations in depicting a digital campus: Student perspective (left) versus administrative
perspective (right). Adapted from illustrations by Moșteanu (2021), Fig. 1 (left) and Fig. 2 (right).
The methodologies for describing information systems related to learning and teaching in higher
education can vary widely. A scan of higher education information system sketches reveals a plethora
of diverse representations. Habraken (2008) proposed a reference architecture for e-learning within a
master’s thesis, while Stacey (2010) assembled diagrams of learning management systems.
Thackaberry (2017) offers an assortment of visual depictions of online learning infrastructures across
colleges. However, even a contemporary online search does not suggest any universally accepted
representation methodology. This variation likely arises because these illustrations not only stem from
different perspectives (as depicted in Fig. 1) but also serve varied objectives, such as showcasing data
flows, pinpointing bottlenecks, highlighting dependencies, or demarcating IT organizational
responsibilities.
Some efforts aim to produce intricate, layered visualizations. For instance, Nordén's (2018) “Milky
Way” concept represents an enterprise technique for charting business capabilities, encompassing value
chains, IT systems, customer interactions, and more, all aiming for iterative enhancement. Nauwerck et
al. (2022) adapted this concept to university IT infrastructures, highlighting its potential applicability.
Yet, the “Milky Way” approach presents multifaceted images from multiple angles, sometimes even
incorporating heatmap elements to signal areas necessitating refinement. While promising, it appears
overly intricate for our project's objectives.
Our exploration of these diverse representations underscores the absence of a standardized approach
to depict teaching-related information systems in higher education. Furthermore, we found no
references detailing practices adopted by other institutions within the European University Alliances.
This void motivates us to outline our unique methodology.
3 Step-by-step description of the Unite! approach to describe
partners’ digital educational infrastructure
Our approach was fundamentally driven by several pivotal questions: What are the ideal formats for
these descriptions? What common frameworks exist, and how are our partners utilizing them? Which
standards for presentation and organization are most logical? How can we achieve consensus, especially
considering the variances in infrastructure?
Figure 2 provides a schematic of our methodology, illustrating how we endeavored to obtain
synchronized, coherent, and insightful depictions of IT infrastructures related to teaching and its
academic management across all partner universities. For temporal context, we have also incorporated
pertinent dates.
Examining IT Infrastructures for Learning and Teaching in the EUAU S. Schön et al.
278
Figure 2: Development of digital educational IT system sketches and descriptions
of all Unite! partners at a glance
Our progression was methodical and can be summarized as follows:
(a) Initially, we sought meetings with all partners, inviting individuals well-versed in delineating
the digital educational infrastructure of a university. In these meetings, we articulated our goal: to
achieve consistent depictions across all partner universities. Several partners already had preliminary
system diagrams. We introduced an initial representation of Graz University of Technology's
infrastructure as an example. The ensuing discussions around the contrasts and parallels in our systems
were productive and well-received. There was a palpable sense of understanding and dedication to the
shared objective. Post this preliminary dialogue, we refined the TU Graz sketches, presenting them as
a potential blueprint. Nonetheless, the subsequent directive for (b) was laid out with considerable
flexibility:
“Each partner university is asked to contribute with a digital educational system landscape
visualization and description as well as with a student journey visualization and description.
Please name technology and versions of all digital educational system structures, esp.
applications related to educational content within the partner universities. There is not a “final”
idea about the illustration and design consideration. But we are sure to develop step-by-step by
sharing and comparing the sketches. Please use the existing sketches and links for inspiration.
We will use Draw.io to have the same visual possibility.” (from our template)
During our first in-person project meeting, we (c) showcased all the sketches, both in enlarged
printouts and digitally, with responsible partners narrating each presentation. Ahead of this, we had
formulated a “checklist” delineating the elements expected in each representation. This checklist served
as a discussion point and was subsequently adopted as a foundation for further refinements. Post-
meeting, we evaluated the various representation styles to identify the most effective approach,
subsequently crafting a template with detailed guidelines. This refined template was then presented and
debated in an online session before being redistributed to all (d). Subsequently, all refined sketches and
descriptions were amalgamated into a collective report, upon which feedback was solicited from all
partners. We are currently in the stages of further refinement and finalization (g) to establish a robust
foundation for upcoming developments (h).
4 Illustrative representations of a partner university
To provide more than just a procedural account, we subsequently exhibit the current depictions of
TU Graz's digital educational infrastructure. This depiction not only elucidates TU Graz's systems and
Examining IT Infrastructures for Learning and Teaching in the EUAU S. Schön et al.
279
situation, but also serves as a comparative model alongside the other Unite! partners (see Figures 3 and
4).
Figure 3: TU Graz's Digital Educational Infrastructure Overview (left).
We decided to use x for on-promise tools and the € sign for not on-promise tools.
Examining IT Infrastructures for Learning and Teaching in the EUAU S. Schön et al.
280
Figure 4: Student’s Lifecycle Through Digital Educational Systems (right)
Beyond the visual delineations, we also solicited a text-based description. Displayed here is only
the structure; it encompasses concise overviews of all systems and tools (highlighting the product name
and primary function), a segment outlining unique attributes (for instance, specifics of the university
system or national tools), and, if relevant, a section detailing present and prospective trajectories.
5 Recommendations and future directions
Our approach was met with profound understanding, keen interest, and dedication, showcasing an
appreciation for our transparent methodology. The templates we provided were pragmatically utilized.
One challenge was aligning the diverse tasks mentioned in the project description with potential uses
for these representations. For instance, while one task pertained to the integration of mobility
applications, another focused on the integration of services - a task yet to be fully defined in terms of
its specific objectives and driven in part by requirements analysis. When there is more clarity and
singularity of purpose of such sketches, the process undoubtedly becomes smoother.
Through our interactions and in-depth presentations, the unique circumstances of certain partners
were accentuated. For instance, one partner institution is the product of a recent merger and still operates
using dual, overlapping infrastructures. Another has a partial federated architecture, and there are slight
variations at faculty level and university wide level. There are also partners relying on national systems
unfamiliar or unparalleled in other countries. We eagerly anticipate presenting these nuances in our
comprehensive report scheduled for spring 2024, which we believe will be an invaluable internal
resource. Concurrently, we hope our procedural descriptions and exemplars can guide other universities
and alliances in sculpting their respective strategies.
Examining IT Infrastructures for Learning and Teaching in the EUAU S. Schön et al.
281
Acknowledgement
The Unite! alliance has received funding from the European Commission. The work presented
herein was accomplished collaboratively with invaluable input and feedback from e-learning and IT
experts across all partner universities in Unite! Community 2 Digital Campus. We extend our heartfelt
gratitude for their exemplary cooperation. We would like to thank you for the excellent cooperation and
apologize that we do not might mention every single contributor by name.
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Conference Paper
Full-text available
Nine European technology universities constitute the Unite! Alliance, a network that creates a new model for a virtual and physical European inter-university campus through close cooperation, physical and virtual mobility of members, joint programmes, communities that support teaching innovation, and open and entrepreneurial innovation networks. The Metacampus virtual campus platform is an important aspect of this framework. All participants in the Unite! Community can join at the Metacampus, which coexists alongside other universities' virtual campuses. It must become a valuable and useful tool for a wide range of users who are used to very different tools and processes, which is only one of the many difficulties it faces. The Moodle platform was chosen as the base for the work, and it was decided to maximise its features while minimising the amount of new innovations required to achieve the goals. After four years, the number of users who have registered and taken part in the activities that have been suggested enables us to draw the conclusion that the path is the right one for handling a challenge like the design and execution of a multi-university virtual campus.
La Conceptualització del Metacampus d'Unite!
  • Alcober Segura
  • J Á Llorens García
  • A Adam
  • A Oller Aubia
  • M Prat Farran
  • J D A Forment
Alcober Segura, J. Á., Llorens García, A., Adam, A., Oller Aubia, M., Prat Farran, J. D. A., & Alier Forment, M. (2021). La Conceptualització del Metacampus d'Unite!. In FIET2021: la investigació i la innovació en tecnologia educativa a l'era digital: 27-29 octubre 2021: llibre d'actes (pp. 7-17). Publicacions URV.
Aligning IT infrastructures for digital learning amongst the European university alliance Unite! -The Unite! digital campus framework and requirements (1.0). Unite! Community 2 Digital Campus
  • Alcober Segura
  • J A Llorens
  • A Adam
  • A Oller
  • M Prat
  • J Forment
  • M A Publicacions
  • Urv Ebner
  • M Schön
  • S Alcober
  • J Bertonasco
  • R Bonani
  • F Cruz
  • L Espadas
  • C Xavier
  • V Franco
  • M Gasplmayr
  • K Giralt
  • J Hoppe
  • C Koschutnig-Ebner
  • M Langevin
  • E Laurent
  • R Leitner
  • P Martikainen
  • J Matias
  • J Muchitsch
  • M Oller
  • M Pereira
  • A B Petersson
  • J Santiano
  • G Schmidt
  • A Silva
  • F M Steitz
  • K Taraghi
  • B Torchiano
  • M Villas
  • S Würz
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Visualising the digital transformation of research data management and student administration the Milky Way
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  • A Winckler
  • M Cederberg
Nauwerck, M. L. G., Winckler, A., & Cederberg, M. (2022). Visualising the digital transformation of research data management and student administration the Milky Way. EUNIS conferene 2022, URL: https://www.eunis.org/download/2022/EUNIS_2022_paper_42.pdf Nordén, C. (2018). The Milky Way -Map, Navigate and Accelerate Change. IRM Consult AB. Stacey, P. (2010). Architecting EdTech. Published in edtechfrontier.com. URL: https://edtechfrontier.com/2010/06/07/architecting-edtech/
Articulate the technology systems that integrate into a college-wide online learning infrastructure
  • S Thackaberry
Thackaberry, S. (2017). Articulate the technology systems that integrate into a college-wide online learning infrastructure. Published on personal Website, last modified 2017. URL: https://edusasha.com/the-guide-to-everything-elearning/elearning-infrastructure-and-architecture/ Examining IT Infrastructures for Learning and Teaching in the EUAU S. Schön et al.