Abstract:

On the background of the current coronavirus pandemic, the authors illustrate, by four examples, the accelerating effect of the corona-crisis in two sectors (industry and education) and two industries (book publishing industry and oil & gas industry). The examples were selected based on their representativeness mainly. More specifically, the focus is primarily on the business sector from Romania, specifically on the book publishing industry – chosen for several reasons (large interest among population, subject of dramatic changes as result of the preferences turning to e-books; investments in newer technologies following to strategic changes; its relationship with other social sectors of large interest as education and culture). The research methodology included secondary (literature) research as well as primary (authors’) own observations and interviews, over a period of six months, from the onset of corona-crisis in Romania (March – September 2020). The results reveal the role of corona-crisis as opportunity for strategic decisions to invest in new technologies, accelerator of investments in new technologies, and digital [technologies] accelerator. The paper also reveals that corona-crisis accelerated the investments in digital technologies for online education. This paper launches the thesis of the education paradigm shift – in that respect of the educator’s role in the predictable future, to provoke a discussion, and to open a research path, for higher education strategists, policy makers, scholars and educators.