Transitioning from “traditional” to the “new normal” - what is in between? An editorial to BRIDGES symposium proceedings Vipava, Slovenia

The COVID-19 medical emergency resulted in a similar educational emergency as educators and learners at all levels were rapidly required to transition into online digital spaces, use digital tools and services that they may not have been familiar with, and adopt digital pedagogies that they may not have been used to. This created uncertainties bringing challenges and opportunities, and shed light on the affordances and constraints of digital tools. The Erasmus+ BRIDGES project has taken a research-led approach to understand the experiences of educators during the emergency remote teaching (ERT) period in order to inform practices, professional development and support needs in the post-lockdown, post-digital higher educational (HE) landscape. The BRIDGES Symposium has therefore brought together HE practitioners worldwide to reflect on the lessons learned. This editorial will briefly report on the findings of this project, and the emergent themes of the symposium and pose critical questions on lessons learned and the possible futures of digital education in multinational settings.