Designing for Digital Transformation A Lifecycle Approach to Cultivating Digital Literacy in University Faculty

Higher education’s digital transformation is often hampered by one-size-fits-faculty development programmes that ignore the shifting priorities of academic careers. This three-cycle, mixed-methods design-based study proposes and tests a Lifecycle–Design Dual-Cycle (LDDC) model that intersects the European DigCompEdu framework with a six-stage university faculty life-cycle. Conducted across three research-intensive universities in East China (N = 128 instructors; 1,764 student responses), the intervention translated 24 “career-stage × competence” cells into 12 analytics-diagnosed, promotion-linked micro-credentials. Results revealed a predictable M-shaped trajectory of digital competence, with a significant mid-career dip (d = 0.68) driven by time poverty and misaligned incentives. After 18 months, the LDDC model levelled the curve, yielding large gains in teacher competence (d = 0.68), medium gains in student engagement (d = 0.45) and objective behavioural corroboration from LMS logs. Three transferable design principles are advanced: (1) granulate global frameworks into career-stage-specific milestones, (2) embed rapid iterative cycles grounded in learning analytics, and (3) convert digital badges into formal promotion currency. The open-source LDDC blueprint offers a scalable pathway from sporadic workshops to a self-propelling ecology of faculty digital growth, positioning digital transformation as a measurable and sustainable institutional reality.