Driving scalable innovation in digital learning environments

The RMIT Digital Learning Environments Innovation Engine (DLEIE)

Abstract

This paper presents RMIT University's Digital Learning Environments Innovation Engine (DLEIE) a strategic, experiment-driven framework for continuous and scalable innovation in digital learning.

Conceived as a post-COVID initiative to create a vibrant Digital Campus, the DLEIE evolved from RMIT's earlier Digital Campus conceptualisation. It addresses systemic challenges in digital learning experiences faced by large, multi-campus institutions with diverse learners, siloed governance, and complex technological ecosystems which affect these organisations to respond in agility.

The DLEIE emphasises low-risk experimentation, institutional ownership, and rapid, user-informed iteration cycles. In 2024, five targeted experiments addressed student engagement, wellbeing, personalisation, and usability within Canvas LMS. These interventions including academic calendar overlays, wellbeing nudges, course navigation redesign, digital identity tools, and micro-feedback mechanisms tackled longstanding gaps in digital learning design. The 2025 strategy expands through cross-disciplinary focus groups, qualitative interviews, and co-design hackathons involving students, staff, and industry partners. We examine early outcomes, lessons learned, and cultural and structural enablers necessary to embed agile innovation in higher education. The DLEIE offers a replicable model for universities seeking to move beyond vendor-led digital change toward more responsive, inclusive, and effective digital learning environments.