Digital leadership competencies of Indonesian university students in the fourth industrial revolution

Despite the rapid digital transformation in Southeast Asia, scholarly attention regarding the development of student digital leadership within the Indonesian educational landscape remains sparse. This study bridges this gap by examining the digital leadership competencies of 100 undergraduate students at Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia. Grounded in three theoretical foundations, the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), experiential learning theory, and social cognitive theory, this cross-sectional quantitative study investigates the influence of technology familiarity, organizational involvement, and self-directed learning orientation on digital leadership competency. The findings reveal a five-domain competency framework encompassing technical skills (25.7%), communication skills (23.0% foreign language; 18.9% public speaking), creative skills (12.1%), analytical skills (10.8%), and collaboration skills (9.5%). While students demonstrate high operational capability (97.3%) and technical familiarity, they face critical systemic barriers, including infrastructure limitations (90.5%) and mindset challenges (83.8%). Multiple regression analysis confirms all three hypotheses, with organizational involvement emerging as the strongest predictor (β = 0.31, p < 0.001), followed by self-directed learning orientation (β = 0.28, p = 0.002) and technology familiarity (β = 0.24, p = 0.005). These findings challenge the prevailing focus on technical instruction, arguing instead that universities must institutionalize experiential organizational participation as a core pedagogical strategy. To cultivate ready-to-lead graduates for Industry 4.0, curricula must integrate digital skill-building with immersive, field-based organizational experiences.