Smart Campus Transformation Governance in the Global South: Insights from Papua New Guinea University of Technology

Digital transformation is rapidly reshaping higher education, creating a pressing need for governance frameworks that can address evolving stakeholder expectations. While much research has focused on high-income contexts, governance of smart campus initiatives in the Global South remains underexplored. This study examines smart campus governance at the Papua New Guinea University of Technology, adapting an existing framework to four key dimensions: components, activities, outcomes, and processes. Eighteen semi-structured interviews with university leaders were conducted and thematically analysed, revealing a strong emphasis on components (such as technology, infrastructure, and human resources) followed by processes including planning, coordination, and evaluation, with comparatively less attention given to activities and measurable outcomes. Word frequency analysis highlighted recurring terms such as ‘campus smartness’, ‘university campus’, ‘campus management’, ‘university students’, and ‘campus technology’, reflecting a focus on both technological and organisational aspects of transformation. The findings refine existing governance frameworks and offer practical insights for policymakers, university leaders, and campus planners in the Global South, emphasising the need for contextually tailored strategies that balance infrastructure, operational processes, and stakeholder engagement to enable inclusive, sustainable, and effective digital transformation in higher education.