Perceived digital skills, gaps and perspectives: the case of first-year students of undergraduate courses at the Polytechnic Institute of Beja

Digital skills are key in society. They are central to strengthening employability and developing active citizenship. This study validates the application of the DigComp instrument to 282 first-year students, from 15 first-cycle courses, from the Polytechnic Institute of Beja. In the instrument, the problem-solving dimension was modified to emphasize text processing and calculation processing, as elements to be measured, using five levels of proficiency and culminating the last level with the resource of artificial intelligence supplements. The study confirms the instrument used. Medium and similar proficiency levels were identified between courses. The score of the instrument did not support statistically significant gender differences, resulting from the type of education attended before admission, or from the age of the students. Only the groups created from students who declared using and those who declared not using artificial intelligence supplements showed differences in perceived proficiency.