IntroductionDigital transformation is reshaping academic work, governance, and professional identities in higher education in profound and often contradictory ways. This paper examines how these processes unfold across different phases of digitalization, with particular attention to the tension between emergency-driven change and its longer-term institutionalization.MethodsThe study draws on findings from the European project ECOLHE (Empower Competences for Learning in Higher Education, 2020–202