Self-education in the digital environment: vectors of continuous professional development

Abstract

This paper examines the role of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) and Professional Learning Networks (PLNs) as primary vectors of self-directed professional development for academic staff at Ukrainian technical universities, against the compound backdrop of accelerating digital transformation and the institutional disruptions occasioned by ongoing armed conflict. Drawing on discourse analysis of practitioner accounts and a ive reviews, the study maps how digitally mediated self-education enables lecturers to sustain and extend their pedagogical competence despite recurrent air-raid alerts, scheduled electricity outages, and the consequent erosion of stable working conditions. The analysis foregrounds the complementary affordances of MOOC platforms - which provide structured, asynchronous upskilling in both technical and pedagogical domains - and PLNs, which enable informal, socially constructed knowledge exchange beyond institutional boundaries. The findings suggest that both modalities generate measurable gains in professional efficacy, yet each carries structural limitations that require critical institutional attention. The paper concludes with recommendations for recognising and formalising digital self-educational pathways within university professional development frameworks.