Technology for sustainability in the educational context: A portrait of the Italian universities

Abstract

This paper aims to investigate the topic of sustainability within the educational context, specifically the link between the adoption of digital and smart technologies, including AI applications, and sustainability within higher educational institutions. Starting from the consideration that digital and smart technologies play a crucial role in supporting any organizational processes, including educational and training processes, we aim to provide a portrait of the Italian universities and their way to be much more sustainable adopting digital and smart technologies (water dispensers; waste recycling; accessible website; visual content in PowerPoint slides; studentfacing online tools, such as, clickers, discussion boards, chat bots, and WIKIs accessible, etc.). Starting from a deep review of the literature on the topic, we investigate the Italian universities mapping them considering some specific main features (i.e. the development and adoption of sustainability practices and solutions also through digital and smart technologies, the adoption of e-learning solutions, etc.). This qualitative research, through a multiple case study, provides possible interesting insights for the future, investigating one specific country, where some factors, such as cultural, contextual, geographic, and organizational factors, should significantly impact the way universities try to be much more sustainable through the adoption of digital and smart technologies, and, consequently, becoming ‘smart and sustainable’ universities.