Digital competencies, online learning, oTPD, higher education, TPACK, DigCompEdu, instructional design.

The digital transformation of higher education has triggered an increased emphasis on strengthening educators’ digital competencies through scalable and flexible learning opportunities. Online Teacher Professional Development (oTPD) represents one of the most promising approaches to the continuous development of pedagogical and technological readiness. This theoretical paper synthesises the dominant conceptual frameworks and empirical findings concerning institutional, pedagogical and delivery-related factors that influence the effectiveness of oTPD. Based on the existing scholarly literature on teacher professional development, digital competence frameworks, and models of online learning, the paper formulates an integrated conceptual model that explains how organisational strategy, programme design, collaborative learning structures, reflective tools, and facilitation practices interact to support sustainable professional development. The analysis highlights that effective oTPD requires alignment between institutional vision, pedagogical principles and the realities of academic work. The paper concludes with recommendations for higher education institutions regarding the conceptual design of professional development ecosystems that support long-term improvement of digital pedagogical competence.

The digital transformation of higher education has triggered an increased emphasis on strengthening educators’ digital competencies through scalable and flexible learning opportunities. Online Teacher Professional Development (oTPD) represents one of the most promising approaches to the continuous development of pedagogical and technological readiness. This theoretical paper synthesises the dominant conceptual frameworks and empirical findings concerning institutional, pedagogical and delivery-related factors that influence the effectiveness of oTPD. Based on the existing scholarly literature on teacher professional development, digital competence frameworks, and models of online learning, the paper formulates an integrated conceptual model that explains how organisational strategy, programme design, collaborative learning structures, reflective tools, and facilitation practices interact to support sustainable professional development. The analysis highlights that effective oTPD requires alignment between institutional vision, pedagogical principles and the realities of academic work. The paper concludes with recommendations for higher education institutions regarding the conceptual design of professional development ecosystems that support long-term improvement of digital pedagogical competence.