Challenges, Recovery Strategies and Solutions to the Covid-19 Pandemic in Universities: An Exploratory Literature Review

University systems, structures, and processes have been caught off guard by the unprecedented impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, with almost all institutions lacking proactive contingency plans. In much of the world, most stakeholders, including consumers, are ill-prepared in technology, with academics and students having serious gaps in digital technology knowledge, mainly in poor and developing countries. In addition, funding uncertainties, inadequate technological infrastructure, intellectual lack of digital capability, and inflexible policies exacerbated the consequences of the pandemic. This has had adverse repercussions on the quality of teaching and learning. This book chapter critically synthesises the existing literature on the current strategies to recover from the pandemic, discusses the challenges encountered, and considers the new dimensions that have emerged from the empirical literature in the university sector (which can be applied in different settings). These objectives were achieved by rigorously analysing various relevant, recently published journal articles and three official reports from credible international organisations. The literature review study was based on grounded theory’s inductive approach, leading to the search for relevant articles and official reports. It is believed that the dissection and absorption of several realities challenges and solutions identified in the book chapter can be utilised as foundations of recovery strategies that can be planned and implemented at universities around the world.