Digitalization of the global economic processes has had a great impact on the digitalization of higher education. However, globalization of business, stronger regulations and numerous technological solutions and innovations are not bypassing the economic education either. In recent decades, there has been a growing awareness of the importance of higher education to the development of a knowledge-based economy. Critical thinking and soft skills are essential for implementing innovations in the teaching of economics and finance in higher education. The aim of this paper is to analyse and systematize the key challenges and opportunities, as well as determine the main trends in the use of innovations in higher education. The methodological approach of the present study includes a literature review on the benefits of critical thinking and soft skills in universities. The research questions are related to (1) assessing the impact of innovations used in the teaching of economics and finance on the development of students' critical thinking, as well as (2) whether soft skills in education improve the effectiveness of the learning process. The results of the research confirmed the importance of using innovations in university education for critical thinking and confirm the hypotheses related to the satisfaction of the students with the learning process through soft skills. The results determine that institutions of higher education for the formation of soft skills of students introduce innovative methods and means in the learning process.
Nadya Velinova-Sokolova (Fri,) studied this question.