A Permacrisis Compass: What Does the Digital Transformation Bring to the European Higher Education and Research?

COVID-19 captures a critical juncture. The pandemic has brought about major changes in the way higher education and research sectors operate across the globe. The nimblest institutions have seized the opportunity brought by the shift towards online solutions to enhance their capacity to provide uninterrupted learning and researchopportunities and extend their outreach to a wider audience. The autoethnographic account of the virtual research experience pursued by the author of this chapter at two higher education and research institutions, each affiliated to a different international organization, conveys new empirical insights on the multi-faceted developments experienced during the ongoing permacrisis. This internationally unprecedented historical episode is a valuable source of lessons learnt. It offers insights on how intellectual hubs adjacent to international organizations can broaden ties and collaborative encounters beyond their geographically located premises on a moreregular basis. The virtual space offers more balanced mobility between Europe and Asia. Likewise, in the context of lifelong learning, the pandemic has encouraged individuals to improve their skills that might prove to be valuable at the later stages of their lives and careers.