# Education Mobility as a Service: A Study of the Features of a Novel Mobility Platform
###### Abstract
The authors are developing the first original solution proposal for the pan-European digital educational platform eMediator. The study presents a categorization of the recommended functionality of an innovative service-oriented mobility platform based on a numerical assessment of the expected users of educational services. The following research question and hypothesis were established. RQ: What education-related categories should be selected for the development of functionality of an innovative service-oriented mobility platform prototype? With reference to the main goal of the eMediator project and its target groups, first of all, it is necessary to think about competencies gained through mobility. According to the literature review, mobility is crucial for competence acquisition and development. There are differences in the development of core competencies between the students who have traveled abroad and those who have not had such a chance [2]. Secondly, mobility topics are often associated with pedagogical issues, for example, critical thinking skills [3] or linguistic skills [4]. A perfect platform to support mobility should also be well-organized and technologically advanced. This contributes to human-computer interaction, specifically a user-friendly interface [5; 6]. Taking into account the above aspects, we propose the following hypothesis. H: The selection and development of the functionality of a mobility platform should possess features related to four components: acquired competencies, pedagogy, organization, and technology. To find out what particular aspects are important for each component, we formulated detailed research questions. RQ1: Regarding the competences (knowledge, skills, dispositions--knowing why), what kind of learning content would students expect to have in the portal? The analysis of literature concerning development of multifarious competencies indicates that first and foremost competencies are related to future jobs. The examples are future-fit leadership [7], future teaching [8], next-generation core emergency management [9], and future software engineering [10]. Considering the issue of the future, we propose the following hypothesis:  
**Hypothesis 1 (H1)**. : _Students' expectations will be directed toward the future labor market. They would like to learn relevant issues to prepare them for future work._  
The second detailed research question concerns pedagogy. RQ2: Regarding pedagogy, what kind of didactic activities would students prefer? Many didactic activities, traditional or technologically enhanced, use gamification, which in most advanced systems tends to be tailored, personalized, adaptive, and recommended [11]. Gamification involves motivational affordances in non-gaming educational contexts [12] and activates students' engagement [13]. Therefore, we propose the following hypothesis:  
**Hypothesis 2 (H2)**. : _Students would like to use gamified activities._  
Third detailed research question concentrates on organizational issues. RQ3: Regarding organization, how a platform supporting mobility should be organized? Organization of education, as well as its modernization and the formation of new personal relationships is a concern of modern management [14]. Organizational issues also concern, among other things, best practices in digital education [15] and the common good [16]. Therefore, we propose the following hypothesis:  
**Hypothesis 3 (H3)**. : _The platform should be organized in a manner that allows students to look for job opportunities and relevant training._  
The last detailed research question concerns technology. RQ4: What kind of technology, 2D or 3D, should the platform use? Learning managements systems, which are considered flat 2D platforms, are overwhelming and used by many educational institutions in many contexts. For instance, they can be used in business education [17], math education in times of pandemics [18], arithmetic fluency performance [19].