The digitalization of processes and services was hence considered a form of innovation and laid the foundations for the later phenomenon of datafication. Initially fervent discourses embraced data-driven practices as an opportunity to improve efficiency, objectivity, transparency and innovation. The two main missions in Higher Education, teaching and research, went through several processes of digitalization that encompassed data-intensive practices. While there is doubtless value in these developments, there are frequent assumptions on the power of algorithms to predict, support or address educational and social processes that could prevent agentic and transformational practices if unsupervised. Beyond a dystopian vision, data cultures in Higher Education should be discussed, revisiting the new contingencies datafication imposes in the relationship between teachers and students and towards society.

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