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Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/2445/195140
Data Centres in the University: From Tools to Symbols of Power and Transformation
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Abstract
The almost compulsory and compulsive use of digital platforms through which the university community connects to knowledge, research, teaching and management activities has intensified
in the pandemic. Faced with this challenge, higher education institutions must address fundamental
questions about learning in a post-digital landscape. This paper explores how universities have
created or adapted research centres to deal with data generation in their day-to-day activities.
Although the centres analyzed in this paper have different profiles and expertise, they all seek to
better prepare higher education institutions to cope with the datafication of society manifested in
different ways (e.g., digital inclusion, artificial intelligence, privacy, ethical use of data, etc.). Based
on a co-design and virtual ethnography, this work is structured in two phases (1) identification and
analysis of 31 websites affiliated to university datafication centres, and (2) selection and deepening
on 4 core dimensions of work of these centres. These comparative results highlight global trends,
research agendas, and priorities, but also illustrate the need to move towards a more
multidisciplinary approach, understanding data not only as "tools" but also as "subjects" with an
increasingly economical and symbolic power.
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RIVERA VARGAS, Pablo, et al. Data Centres in the University: From Tools to Symbols of Power and Transformation. [consulted: 10 of August of 2026]. Available at: https://hdl.handle.net/2445/195140