Teaching Digital Sustainability in Higher Education from a Transdisciplinary Perspective
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Related Work
2.1. The Sustainable Development Goals
2.2. Teaching Sustainability in Higher Educational Settings
3. Teaching Framework
4. Case Study
4.1. Description of the Student Cohort
4.2. Explorative Results of the Student Groups
4.3. Explorative Cluster Analysis of Student Groups
- Efficient allocation: SDGs 7–9; SDGs 11–12;
- Fair distribution: SDGs 1–5; SDG 10; SDGs 16–17;
- Sustainable scale: SDG 6; SDGs 13–15
5. Discussion
5.1. Target Group and Challenges to the Framework
- Are there specific hurdles in transferring the presented framework from the postgraduate sector towards classical bachelor’s programmes?
- 2.
- Are there any constraints considering prerequisites to execute the proposed framework?
- 3.
- What challenges arose during the individual steps of the framework and how can they potentially be mitigated?
5.2. Extensions to the Framework
- 1.
- An inherently positive view of digitalization was presented, as a problem solver for sustainability. How about the dark side of digitalization when digital transformation is a problem by itself?
- 2.
- A micro-level view of digital transformation as an organization-level concern was presented, unlike a system-level transition which, due to the broad adoption of digital technologies, alters social, economic, political, etc. behaviour on a large scale. Can the presented work lend itself to generalization from the micro to the macro view?
- 3.
- The aspect of micro-sustainability is also viewed from inside an organization. Could an external consumer/partner/supplier view complement the internal view?
- 4.
- Roleplaying could be tried within the framework, including consumer, provider, administrator, policymaker, and other roles, depending on the students’ affiliations and professional functions.
- 5.
- Could the national-level SDG review constitute part of the macro/system view on sustainability?
6. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Year 1 | Year 2 | Total | % of Total | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
No. of students per class | 75 | 42 | 117 | 100% | |
Program | DCG => MBA programme | 10 | 4 | 14 | 12% |
MIT => Master’s programme (MSc) | 65 | 38 | 103 | 88% | |
Nationality | German | 23 | 20 | 43 | 37% |
Austrian | 52 | 22 | 74 | 63% | |
Gender | Male | 68 | 35 | 103 | 88% |
Female | 7 | 7 | 14 | 12% | |
Age (in years) | 24–30 | 19 | 13 | 32 | 27% |
31–36 | 14 | 13 | 27 | 23% | |
37–42 | 15 | 9 | 24 | 21% | |
43–48 | 21 | 6 | 27 | 23% | |
>48 | 6 | 1 | 7 | 6% | |
Highest completed level of pre-education | Apprenticeship | 37 | 24 | 61 | 52% |
Professional school | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3% | |
A-levels | 27 | 13 | 40 | 34% | |
University (bachelor’s and/or master’s degree) | 8 | 5 | 13 | 11% | |
Years of professional experience | <=5 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 7% |
6–10 J | 11 | 9 | 20 | 17% | |
11–15J | 22 | 8 | 30 | 26% | |
16–20J | 14 | 10 | 24 | 21% | |
21–25 J | 14 | 8 | 22 | 19% | |
26–30 J | 7 | 2 | 9 | 8% | |
>30 J | 4 | 0 | 4 | 3% | |
Years of leadership/management experience | None | 8 | 9 | 17 | 15% |
<2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1% | |
2–3 | 9 | 11 | 20 | 17% | |
4–5 | 12 | 3 | 15 | 13% | |
6–7 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 6% | |
>7 | 44 | 13 | 57 | 49% | |
Hierarchy level | Employee | 41 | 25 | 66 | 56% |
Lower management/team lead | 11 | 7 | 18 | 15% | |
Middle management | 12 | 9 | 21 | 18% | |
Self-employed/chief executive | 7 | 1 | 8 | 7% | |
Top management/C level | 4 | 0 | 4 | 3% | |
The economic sector of employing company or organization | Secondary | 37 | 28 | 65 | 56% |
Tertiary | 38 | 14 | 52 | 44% | |
ISIC classification of employer’s economic activity | 10. Information and communication | 16 | 2 | 18 | 15% |
11. Financial and insurance activities | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3% | |
13. Professional, scientific and technical activities | 7 | 7 | 14 | 12% | |
14. Administrative and support service activities | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2% | |
15. Public administration and defence; compulsory social security | 3 | 2 | 5 | 4% | |
16. Education | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2% | |
17. Human health and social work activities | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2% | |
3. Manufacturing | 37 | 28 | 65 | 56% | |
7. Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3% | |
8. Transportation and storage | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3% |
GROUP ID | SECTOR | ISIC | EFS | AGE | EDU LVL | EXP OVERALL | EXP LEAD | CLUSTER |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 3 | 7 | 2 | 43 | 0 | 22 | 16 | 1 |
5 | 3 | 15 | 3 | 39 | 1 | 8 | 7 | 1 |
6 | 3 | 8 | 1 | 30 | 0 | 15 | 9 | 1 |
11 | 3 | 11 | 1 | 43 | 1 | 13 | 7 | 1 |
12 | 3 | 10 | 1 | 30 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 1 |
19 | 3 | 10 | 1 | 41 | 1 | 25 | 0 | 1 |
20 | 3 | 8 | 1 | 39 | 1 | 11 | 0 | 1 |
23 | 3 | 13 | 1 | 39 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 1 |
26 | 3 | 15 | 3 | 31 | 0 | 11 | 11 | 1 |
2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 30 | 0 | 11 | 5 | 2 |
4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 30 | 0 | 9 | 7 | 2 |
8 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 30 | 1 | 10 | 7 | 2 |
13 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 26 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 2 |
15 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 34 | 0 | 14 | 5 | 2 |
18 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 28 | 1 | 9 | 3 | 2 |
21 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 24 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 2 |
22 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 28 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 2 |
24 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 26 | 1 | 8 | 5 | 2 |
27 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 27 | 0 | 11 | 3 | 2 |
3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 37 | 0 | 17 | 5 | 3 |
7 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 36 | 1 | 18 | 7 | 3 |
9 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 44 | 1 | 24 | 7 | 3 |
10 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 42 | 1 | 21 | 0 | 3 |
14 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 43 | 0 | 21 | 7 | 3 |
16 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 44 | 0 | 18 | 13 | 3 |
17 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 45 | 0 | 30 | 13 | 3 |
25 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 45 | 0 | 25 | 3 | 3 |
Step # | Content of Step | Problem Challenge/Open Point | Methods for Mitigation |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Introduction of SDGs, ICT, and digitalization | the challenge of sustainability awareness | Involve senior students in peer exchange and mutual learning |
2 | Scenario definition | the challenge of scenario definition |
|
3 | Elicitation of status quo |
|
|
4 | Vision creation |
|
|
5 | PEST analysis | the challenge of going beyond financial aspects |
|
6 | Digital Sustainability BSC | the challenge of measuring what matters |
|
7 | Formulations of recommendations | the challenge of pitching the results |
|
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Lampoltshammer, T.J.; Albrecht, V.; Raith, C. Teaching Digital Sustainability in Higher Education from a Transdisciplinary Perspective. Sustainability 2021, 13, 12039. https://doi.org/10.3390/su132112039
Lampoltshammer TJ, Albrecht V, Raith C. Teaching Digital Sustainability in Higher Education from a Transdisciplinary Perspective. Sustainability. 2021; 13(21):12039. https://doi.org/10.3390/su132112039
Chicago/Turabian StyleLampoltshammer, Thomas J., Valerie Albrecht, and Corinna Raith. 2021. "Teaching Digital Sustainability in Higher Education from a Transdisciplinary Perspective" Sustainability 13, no. 21: 12039. https://doi.org/10.3390/su132112039