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Teaching Digital Sustainability in Higher Education from a Transdisciplinary Perspective

Author

Listed:
  • Thomas J. Lampoltshammer

    (Department for E-Governance and Administration, Danube University Krems, 3500 Krems, Austria)

  • Valerie Albrecht

    (Department for E-Governance and Administration, Danube University Krems, 3500 Krems, Austria)

  • Corinna Raith

    (Department for E-Governance and Administration, Danube University Krems, 3500 Krems, Austria)

Abstract

Sustainability is gaining importance in society, government, and the economy, particularly during today’s rapidly changing environment, due to digitalization and digital transformation. Awareness, as well as systematic and critical thinking, are crucial to address the great societal challenges postulated within the SDGs, and thus should be reflected in contemporary education. Consequently, higher educational institutions face a high level of responsibility to prepare their students properly. Postgraduate programmes for professional training, in particular, have great potential, as the in-depth work experience of students can be leveraged to engage with them as co-leaders towards sustainable solutions in the digital age, from a transdisciplinary perspective. Thus, this paper introduces a teaching framework for digital sustainability in higher education under the light of transdisciplinarity. The framework and its inherent methods are discussed, followed by an exploratory analysis, covering the experiences of over 100 students over the course of two years in a postgraduate master’s programme. We present the results of the students’ learning and ideation process towards digital products/services to tackle challenges within the SDGs. In addition, we provide a critical reflection of prerequisites for teaching the framework, challenges experienced during teaching, and potential solutions, as well as ideas towards the future expansion of the framework.

Suggested Citation

  • Thomas J. Lampoltshammer & Valerie Albrecht & Corinna Raith, 2021. "Teaching Digital Sustainability in Higher Education from a Transdisciplinary Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-21, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:21:p:12039-:d:669422
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    2. Thomas J. Lampoltshammer & Stefanie Wallinger & Johannes Scholz, 2023. "Bridging Disciplinary Divides through Computational Social Sciences and Transdisciplinarity in Tourism Education in Higher Educational Institutions: An Austrian Case Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-16, May.

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