Background: The Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) and the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) have disrupted the higher education environment in unprecedented ways. Aim: This article identifies the impact of increasing disruption driven by the 4IR and COVID-19 on the content and curriculum design of degree programmes in economic and management sciences offered by South African universities. Setting: Six South African and five top-tier US and UK universities. Methods: The study used a non-positivist qualitative research design and specifically the case-study approach. A document analysis of the information in university yearbooks and prospectuses was conducted, using a purposive sampling design. Results: An online presence will become more important due to increased disruption, and will not only ensure an additional revenue stream, but also promote continuity in operations and mitigate threats from competitors. COVID-19 has accelerated the extent of this disruption and expedited the migration to online teaching and learning platforms. Conclusion: Since science, technology, engineering and mathematics are integral to the majority of 4IR-related modules, South African universities must not shy away from degree programmes that ignore inter- and multi-disciplinary curriculum designs. Coupled with the challenges facing the majority of South African students to access electronic devices, data and the internet, COVID-19 has thrust this challenge to the forefront in the South African higher education landscape. By comparing the developments in South African universities with those in trendsetting, top-tier, global universities, management can assess the extent to which they are internationally competitive and adapting to the demands of the 4IR.

中文翻译：

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南非大学处于日益混乱的时期

背景：第四次工业革命 (4IR) 和 2019 年冠状病毒病 (COVID-19) 以前所未有的方式扰乱了高等教育环境。目的：本文确定了由 4IR 和 COVID-19 推动的日益严重的中断对南非大学提供的经济和管理科学学位课程的内容和课程设计的影响。地点：六所南非大学和五所美国和英国一流大学。方法：该研究采用非实证主义定性研究设计，特别是案例研究方法。使用有目的的抽样设计，对大学年鉴和招股说明书中的信息进行了文件分析。结果：由于中断的增加，在线业务将变得更加重要，并且不仅可以确保额外的收入来源，还能促进运营的连续性并减轻来自竞争对手的威胁。COVID-19 加速了这种破坏的程度，并加快了向在线教学平台的迁移。结论：由于科学、技术、工程和数学是大多数 4IR 相关模块的组成部分，南非大学不能回避忽视跨学科和多学科课程设计的学位课程。再加上大多数南非学生在访问电子设备、数据和互联网方面面临的挑战，COVID-19 将这一挑战推到了南非高等教育领域的最前沿。通过比较南非大学与引领潮流的顶级全球大学的发展，