Digital competence of students of a sports university: analysis of the current state and development needs

Abstract

The article discovers the results of the analysis of the level of self-assessment of students of sports fields on the problems of digital literacy and AI competencies. The empirical basis was an in-person survey of students of secondary vocational education and undergraduate students of the Moscow State University of Sport and Tourism, conducted in March-April 2026. Based on statistical data, the results of «Digital Dictation» and a survey of students, a number of key problems have been identified: insufficient digital literacy among young people, imbalances in its level, and differences in the priorities of developing digital skills among vocational and undergraduate students. According to the five-point self-assessment scale, the overall average score was 3.67 among vocational students and 3.36 among undergraduate students; vocational students are more oriented towards the creation of multimedia content, while undergraduate students focus on information search, digital security issues and work with regulatory databases. There is a shortage of teaching materials, poor coverage of the fundamental aspects of AI in sport education, and the risk of students using generative neural networks trained on unreliable data. To solve these problems, measures have been proposed, including the development of special educational modules, the creation of an educational and methodological base, the involvement of students in constructive digitalization processes and further research. The implementation of the proposed solutions can improve the digital competence of future specialists and minimize risks by instilling a critical attitude towards the use of digital technologies.