Building the Educational Foundation for Sustainable Digital Governance: A Survey of AI and Public Administration Competencies among Romanian Students

Abstract

The accelerated digital transformation of public administration and the emergence of regulations on artificial intelligence require the redefinition of the skills needed by future civil servants in relation to the demands of sustainable digital governance. Although literature analyzes institutional digitalization and administrative capacity, there is a gap regarding the systematic assessment of students’ preparation for the integration of AI, data-driven skills and the ethical dimension in the context of sustainable development. The study aims to assess the perceived level of preparation and skills gaps among students in the field of Public Administration and Environmental Economics in Romania, with a focus on advanced digital skills, AI literacy, administrative skills and transversal skills. The methodology consists of an online questionnaire applied to students from bachelor’s and master’s degree programs analyzed through descriptive statistics, comparative tests between groups and regression models to identify the relationships between skills, institutional trust and the intention to use AI in the public sector. Preliminary results indicate significant differences between study levels and highlight gaps in applied AI skills and algorithmic governance. The added value lies in integrating the educational dimension into the debate on sustainable digital governance, contributing to the substantiation of curricular reform and the alignment of administrative education with the European sustainable development agenda. Limitations concern the transversal nature of the research and the use of self-assessment of skills. Future directions include international comparative extension and the integration of mixed methods for in-depth validation.   Keywords: survey, AI, public administration, competencies