1 Introduction

The concept of Sustainable Development (SD) was officially introduced in the Brundtland Report in 1987 (United Nations, 1987) as the development that ‘meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs’. In September 2015, at the United Nations, leaders and stakeholders from all over the world presented and adopted the 2030 Agenda for SD, one of the most emulous and widely accepted agreements in recent history. By 2030, this Agenda, which came into force on January 1st, 2016, aims to guide the world towards a more prosperous and secure future for all. The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) serve as the foundation of the Agenda. The SDGs are a set of aspirations and priorities to direct all nations in addressing the most critical challenges of the world, such as eradicating hunger and poverty; ensuring that everyone can enjoy healthy and fulfilling lives; facing climate change and protecting the planet from degradation; encouraging fair, peaceful and inclusive societies free from violence and fear (United Nations, 2015).

According to the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN, 2017), Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) can promote and support sustainable development (SD) and, consequently, the implementation of the SDGs in various ways; first, by incorporating sustainability principles into all university curricula and educational and research initiatives; second, by acting as vital local knowledge hubs for sustainability; and third, by elevating sustainability as a guiding principle in their own planning and administrative processes. Consequently, the HEIs can play a major role in the education of the next leaders by contributing considerably to the transformation towards a sustainable society via (a) creating knowledge and (b) transferring this knowledge to society and preparing students for their future role in this society (Mohamed Hashim et al., 2022). Hence, the HEIs can play a critical role in achieving the SDGs, while they could also greatly benefit from engaging with them.

However, the potential for the success of these goals may be incomplete or even infeasible without the support and the incorporation of an information and communication technology (ICT) perspective. ICT involves skills regarding computing, software that operates devices, applications and systems that interact with each other (Chen et al., 2015). According to the Mid-Pacific ICT Center (2011), ICT education should consider both the digital literacy component as well as the infrastructure and supporting applied technologies component as the center of ICT curricula. In this context, ICT education can play a significant role in the environmental sustainability core challenges and can help speed up the progress towards every single SDG (Kyle, 2020). Moreover, ICT significantly supports the access to information for SD and the goals of the 2030 Agenda by directly applying tools and technologies developed for this purpose (Latorre-Cosculluela et al., 2023). Such technologies have led to enhanced learning and teaching by using interactive, dynamic and engaging SD content and, at the same time, have helped students worldwide access this educational content more efficiently and effectively (Basilotta-Gómez-Pablos et al., 2022).

In addition, sustainable Information Technology (IT), also known as Green IT or Green Computing, may lead to the minimization of environmental impacts by paying attention to the proper construction, use, management and disposal of information technology components and peripherals (Amekudzi et al., 2015). The concept of sustainable IT in order to sustain and support the goals of the 2030 Agenda includes, among others, (a) the effort to reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions by manufacturers, data centers and end-users for the benefit of individuals and other stakeholders; (b) the choice of sustainably sourced raw materials; (c) the mitigation of electronic waste; and (d) the use of renewable resources (Filho et al., 2017).

A sustainable technology-enhanced education can be a major driver towards sustainable IT, as it can enhance and promote the awareness, appreciation, and practical application of sustainable IT in everyday activities as well as in professional life (Holst, 2022). Consequently, there is a need to motivate and inspire faculty and students in sustainability, identify activity sectors for IT professionals, establish competence fields for solutions and incorporate the concept of sustainability into university curricula (Adams et al., 2018).

Nevertheless, there is no explicit agreement on the definition or the list of desired skills, competencies, or learning outcomes in ICT education for SD (Lim et al., 2022). In addition, there is little guidance on which courses and subjects should be included and how in this education. Gordon (2010) and Ceulemans et al. (2015) emphasize the importance and necessity of integrating the concept of sustainability in the curricula of all disciplines, including engineering and ICT. According to their findings, the inclusion of SD helps students to obtain an understanding on how their actions and decisions affect the environment and society.

However, although the urgent need for embedding sustainability issues in ICT curricula is evident according to the results from a survey of students in higher education around the world (SOS International, 2021), previous studies provide empirical evidence that sustainability is not yet taught as much as believed in the ICT education (Chaudhary & Dey, 2021; Mishra & Mishra, 2020). Nevertheless, to maximize the effects of the different ICT education initiatives for SD, it is considered critical to understand the current perceptions of the students regarding SD and sustainability and their expectations about the integration of this subject into the ICT curricula (Machado et al., 2017).

The present study aims to contribute to this research stream, and it is focused on two distinct but strongly interrelated aspects:

First, it provides insights into the challenge of the introduction of SD education in the HEIs in order to achieve the goals of the UN 2030 Agenda. At the same time, it analyzes the ways in which these challenges could be addressed and records the uncovered essential principles that can guide the integration of SD education in the general higher education. Moreover, this paper advocates the integration of the concept of sustainability into undergraduate ICT curricula and provides suggestions to start the development of ICT curricula which incorporates sustainability issues. In addition, the desired competencies, skills and expected learning outcomes, as well as the strategies and the pedagogical approaches that may be used to support this integration, are presented.

Second, this paper examines the contribution of education to the environmental awareness of the students at a Greek University and their perceptions regarding the necessity for the inclusion of sustainability into the ICT curricula as a context that has not been previously examined. In addition, it explores the intention of the students to engage in sustainable IT. Furthermore, it investigates the effects of the provision of rewarding student involvement and engagement with sustainable IT. Finally, it records the suggestions of the students for creating a sustainable campus network.

The remaining of this paper is organized as follows: first, a literature review is provided, including an overview of how the HEIs can engage and contribute to implementing the SDGs, followed by the approaches to integrate sustainability into the ICT curricula of the HEIs. Afterwards, the implementation of a course in ICT curricula with sustainable development topics is presented. The next section analyzes our research regarding the development of four modules on sustainable IT and their presentation in an ICT course at a Greek University. Then, the methodological approach based on pre-test and post-test data from fifty-two students is described, followed by the results derived by applying descriptive and inferential statistical methods. Finally, the conclusions, recommendations, limitations, and future research directions are presented.

2 Literature review

2.1 Implementing the sustainable development goals by the higher education institutions

A sustainable university is an educational institution that prepares the young citizens of the world about SD, provides relative awareness of pressing societal issues, and minimizes the impact of campus operations on the environment and society (Zanellato & Tiron-Tudor, 2021). In addition, it can encourage students and faculty to take action as it makes sustainability a prime concern (SDSN, 2017). Lertpratchya et al. (2017) provide three reasons for why it is essential that HEIs communicate sustainability effectively. First, many people attend HEIs despite the inherent inequalities in their background and social standing. Second, the most substantial number of students enrolled in HEIs are in their late adolescence (18 to 21), a critical period for identity development. Third, higher education is the last stage of education before entering the labour world, where graduates can have a significant career impact as professionals. Moreover, according to the latest International Association of Universities report (Van’t Land & Herzog, 2017), the majority of the university staff has a medium (43%) or remarkably high (36%) knowledge about SDGs and links SD to environmental questions.

Nevertheless, the engagement with the SDGs provides a unique opportunity to take a whole-of-university approach to solve a slew of significant challenges for humanity and can help HEIs in many creative and impactful ways: SDGs generate increased demand for sustainability-related education. Moreover, they are inclusive and diverse enough to be integrated into programs for undergraduate, graduate or research degrees, such as class activities, lecture material, projects, assignments, and study trips (Verma et al., 2021; ISCN, 2018). For this reason, HEIs should revise and update their curricula to face sustainability principles in the offered courses (Owens, 2017). In addition, SDGs provide a comprehensive and widely acknowledged guide towards a responsible university which should offer solutions-oriented approaches to global challenges (Latorre-Cosculluela et al., 2023). Finally, they develop new funding streams and encourage collaboration with new internal and external partners (Biasutti et al., 2016).

In general, HEIs can engage with the SDGs from a variety of perspectives, each with its own outcomes (Gual, 2019; Hallinger & Chatpinyakoop, 2019), namely, (a) Recognition: The identification and acknowledgement of what a university is already implementing to contribute to the SDGs can provide an inspiring narrative about the impact and give a substantial boost for additional action, (b) Opportunistic alignment: The recognition of the value and significance of the SDGs by different areas across the university and finding opportunities to use them in order to incorporate them into specific activities and programs without having an overall strategy and (c) Organizing and embedding principles: The inclusion of the SDGs principles into all relevant university governance structures and frameworks will drive SDGs to become a vital and integral part of the university.

The third perspective regarding the organization and incorporation of the SDGs principles requires a holistic approach to a sustainable university (Pacis & VanWynsberghe, 2020; Rieckmann, 2018). This approach can provide a common language and platform for building a close collaboration between the university members in terms of the following five domains:

The education by reorienting the curricula towards SD

This education must provide students with the motivation, knowledge, and skills to understand and meet the challenges of the SDGs. In order to achieve this, the SDGs and sustainability principles may be incorporated into all undergraduate and graduate courses as well as graduate research training by HEIs. (De Wit & Leask, 2017; Van’t Land & Herzog, 2017). In addition, HEIs may offer training on the SDGs to all lecturers, course coordinators and curricula developers. Furthermore, they may provide executive education and capacity-building programs for external stakeholders on the SDGs as the necessary abilities to address them (Novo & Murga-Menoyo, 2015). Finally, they may advocate state and national education policies that promote education for the SDGs and encourage students to co-create learning environments and opportunities that support SDGs learning.

The research by discovering answers to important social questions related to the SDGs and the provision of opportunities for interdisciplinary innovations and solutions (UNESCO, 2014)

The HEIs may support the development of skills and abilities to effectively achieve the SDGs since interdisciplinary research can address complex sustainability challenges and further knowledge on SD.

The operations by achieving a zero footprint for campus services and functionalities (Valls-Val & Bovea, 2021)

The provision of opportunities for communicating knowledge and skills among students and professionals through measures such as energy conservation, waste reduction, water conservation, and sustainable transportation may help to address this challenge.

The community by empowering students and faculty to act on sustainability

The HEIs may support and encourage all student clubs and societies to become involved in the SDGs and participate in SDG-related activities and events (Expósito & Sánchez, 2020; Lertpratchya et al., 2017). They may also promote student volunteering activities that address the SDGs. At the same time, they can assist students in starting a network or club to mobilize the campus and student groups around the SDGs through projects, campaigns, and events (Lambrechts, 2016).

The Governance via the Ministry of Education by prioritizing sustainability for the HEIs and incorporating operations aligned with the SDGs into the university reports

Furthermore, they may support students participating in regional, international and youth leadership programs for the SDGs (United Nations, 2015).

Based on the above-mentioned holistic approach, in order to further achieve a smooth engagement with the SDGs, the HEIs communities must acquire new competencies since global competencies like critical and creative thinking are too general to deal with the challenges around sustainability. These competencies tackle sustainability challenges and foster skills and attitudes for effective problem-solving and performance tasks (Cebrián & Junyent, 2015). For this reason, HEIs should offer an appropriate set of skills, knowledge, attitudes, and values necessary to enable the students of today, who will be the leaders of the future, to address complex sustainability issues and succeed in a sustainable future (Pacis & VanWynsberghe, 2020). Table 1 presents the sustainability competencies for the support of the design of courses and programs in sustainability, learning and teaching evaluations, and training faculty and staff, adapted from a literature-based study conducted by Wiek et al. (2011).

Table 1 Sustainability competencies in education
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These competencies support the definite need for HEIs to redesign the physical, virtual, and online learning environments and reform their curricula to inspire students to take action and be involved with the SDGs. Nevertheless, it is imperative to recognize that there is not a single way for the HEIs to implement or support the SDGs. HEIs differ from one another in many ways, including size, structure, financial access, work already being done in SD, priorities, values, and the needs of the communities they serve. Consequently, the ways they choose to engage with the SDGs should reflect these differences and opportunities. For this reason, HEIs are increasingly and consistently integrating sustainability into their campus infrastructure and operations (Lambrechts, 2016). Table 2 presents a number of case studies of how HEIs worldwide are already implementing and supporting education for the SDGs.

Table 2 Curricular initiatives for university students
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2.2 Integration of sustainability into the curricula

As mentioned in the previous section, in response to the support and achievement of the SDGs by HEIs, a primary domain is education by reorientating the curricula towards SD. Indeed, UNESCO (2018) indicates that SD education has the prospective to attract more students due to its essential significance for the future. Furthermore, some studies suggest that sustainability in curricula may increase the recruitment and retention of minorities and women in engineering (Klotz et al., 2014). Thus, there exist many successful examples of sustainability integration, including those in chemistry (Wissinger et al., 2021), accounting and business (Ebaid, 2022), civil engineering (Burke et al., 2018), environmental engineering (Tang & Sillanpää, 2018) and mechanical engineering (Okokpujie et al., 2019). Furthermore, numerous studies (Biasutti et al., 2016; De Wit & Leask, 2017; Franco et al., 2019; Holm et al., 2015) confirm that sustainability-oriented curricula contribute to the environmental knowledge and promotion of environmental awareness of the students, which are the main drivers of environmentally friendly behaviour. Moreover, a study has suggested that raising awareness could contribute to and support the reduction of the carbon footprint of students (Valls-Val & Bovea, 2021).

Despite the previously mentioned examples of sustainability integration into the curricula, one of the significant barriers to the broad incorporation of sustainable education in the HEIs is the fact that sustainability is seldom systematically embedded in the curricula, and at the same time, it is absent from the HEIs strategy (Avila et al., 2017). Many HEIs still focus more on greening their campus than on incorporating and infusing sustainability into the curricula. For this reason, it is essential to establish social and environmental perspectives in the curricula of future graduates, also known as sustainable curricula or courses that include sustainability (Özkan & Mishra, 2015). These courses may (a) focus on a topic which differs from sustainability but integrates a module or unit related to sustainability or address a sustainability challenge, (b) include one or more sustainability-oriented activities or actions, or integrate sustainability issues throughout the course (Paul et al., 2020).

However, it can be estimated that a renewal of the undergraduate curriculum will take 15–20 years to embrace and fully integrate a significant new set of knowledge and skills related to sustainability (Desha & Hargroves, 2014). For this reason, the HEIs should deploy a holistic pedagogy that focuses on learning content, following the learning outcomes, and acquiring broader skills by stimulating learning and promoting core competencies (Holm et al., 2015). These competencies include collaboration, communication, and critical thinking skills, as well as the adoption of values and attitudes relevant to addressing SD global challenges. In addition, they should promote a sense of environmental responsibility and respect for social diversity (Argento et al., 2020). Finally, this holistic pedagogy focuses on learning processes and the learning environment by teaching and learning in an interactive, student-centred way that enables exploratory, action-oriented, transformative, and environmentally friendly learning (Kormos & Julio, 2020).

2.3 Research on the perceptions of the students about SD and sustainability in the curricula

In light of SD education and the integration of sustainability into the curricula, several studies which examine the understanding of the students regarding SD and their familiarity with key environmental legislations, policies and standards indicate that the concept of sustainability is unclear for most students (Gomes et al., 2021; Liu et al., 2022). In addition, researchers have noticed a deficiency of publications exploring what students actually know and perceive about sustainability (Alm et al., 2022; Stough et al., 2018). Research on the perceptions of the students about SD and sustainability usually focuses on their general perceptions of climate change, personal responsibility (SOS International, 2021), and sustainability knowledge. Nevertheless, survey results showed that students might exhibit a lack of motivation and willingness to engage in initiatives effectively and responsibly towards achieving sustainability (Mahmoud et al., 2020).

Although the students can provide innovative ideas or suggestions and contributions to the improvements in the current performance of HEIs, studies on the perceptions of the students towards the link between sustainability and HEIs are under-researched. Expósito and Sánchez (2020) discuss campus development planning based on the perceptions of the students, and Chaudhary and Dey (2021) explore sustainability practices of the HEIs from the perspective of the students, finding that sustainable practices predict student satisfaction. Kukkonen et al. (2018) analyze the priorities of the students for SD in higher education, highlighting that environmental aspects are perceived as principal factors while giving negligible significance to the introduction and development of curricula focusing on sustainability. Furthermore, there is no evidence related to the results of sustainability-oriented activities involving students, their perceptions regarding the role of HEIs in sustainability, and the factors influencing their involvement in sustainability (Lim et al., 2022).

In addition, although there is no direct documentation to support sustainability integration in ICT, the available literature indicates sufficient evidence of the positive impact of sustainability integration in non-ICT engineering disciplines (Weiss & Barth, 2019). Even though some studies highlight the importance for the HEIs to integrate sustainability units into their educational programs in the different ICT disciplines aiming to prepare students to be capable and responsible informatics professionals and understand their role in building the sustainable society of tomorrow (Chaudhary & Dey, 2021; Özkan & Mishra, 2015), the existing literature on sustainability in the ICT curricula is rather limited and isolated (Mishra & Mishra, 2020). Besides, despite the recorded need for a broad curricula reform, the majority of the efforts to change ICT curricula to include sustainability issues have primarily concentrated on the development of individual courses on sustainability (Kyle, 2020; Novo & Murga-Menoyo, 2015). Moreover, there is an apparent lack in the literature on formal assessment and evaluation mechanisms dealing with the perceptions and opinions of students about integrating sustainability into ICT curricula (Stough et al., 2018). To this end, this paper aims to investigate the following:

  • What are the desired competencies, skills and expected learning outcomes, as well as the strategies and the pedagogical approaches that may be used to support the development of the ICT curricula integrating sustainability issues?

  • What are the perceptions of the students regarding the necessity for the inclusion of sustainability into the ICT curricula and their engagement with the SD?

  • How does the provision of rewards affect student involvement and engagement with sustainable IT?

3 Implementation of an ICT course with sustainable development topics

In response to the above-mentioned first question regarding the development of the ICT curricula integrating sustainability issues, the main challenge identified in this incorporation is to ensure that the previously mentioned sustainability competencies (Table 1) are not integrated into the curricula on isolated occasions due to the individual initiatives of faculty, but instead, they are developed consistently and systematically throughout the curricula (Hadgraft & Kolmos, 2020). Therefore, ICT course content must have a section related to SD whenever relevant. Furthermore, it has been recommended that the fundamentals of SD and social responsibility be provided in the first semesters of the curriculum (Weiss & Barth, 2019). In that way, students can address the rest of the courses taking these concepts into consideration and facilitating the connections with other curricula subjects.

A primary teaching technique used in a course as such may be the collaborative problem-solving one (Bataeineh & Aga, 2022). The fact that sustainability in ICT is a relatively new concept and students might not have a strong understanding of it encourages this selection. Therefore, this technique will enhance their ability to understand and communicate in a group context, define sustainability issues, and propose solutions (Steinfeld & Mino, 2009). At the same time, pedagogical approaches should be developed ranging from passive learning in the class (e.g., formal lectures, guest lectures, forum-discussion panels, cases discussed by the instructor, online discussions, and film screenings) to passive learning out of the class (e.g., guided city tours, company visits, participation in roundtables-university stakeholder meetings).

Moreover, deployment of active learning in class (e.g., group discussions with reporting, questions, brainstorming, teaching–learning conversations, voting, simulation games, cases presented by students, group work, self-study, project planning on the computer) and active learning out of the class (e.g., interviews, internships) pedagogical approaches should be encouraged (Franco et al., 2019; Mahmoud et al., 2020; Stough et al., 2018). Finally, topics related to sustainability themes relevant to each course content should also be developed. The expected learning outcomes at the end of a course are the students’ awareness of sustainable IT; as a consequence, the students may deal with computer devices in an eco-friendly way (UNESCO, 2017). In addition, the students are expected to be capable of applying alternative Green IT techniques that can be used to increase sustainability activities in their everyday life.

Table 3 presents selected proposed topics according to the ACM/IEEE-CS and ACM/AIS curricula guidelines of the last decade. It should be noted that environmental sustainability was first introduced in the Computer Science Curriculum 2008 ACM / IEEE curricular guidelines as a topic into the elective course Economics of Computing. Since then, to the best of our knowledge, there have been no significant changes in the ICT curricula regarding the implementation of the proposals or guidelines related to sustainability. A possible explanation may be that although many courses in ICT curricula may contain material directly related to SD, this material may neither be clearly identified as such nor the faculty will necessarily consider in relation to SD for this material (Steinfeld & Mino, 2009).

Table 3 ACM / IEEE-CS and ACM/AIS curricula guidelines related to sustainability
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Therefore, a starting point to discover the possibilities for this engagement of the HEIs could be the examination of the current ICT curricula and map of what is already being implemented to support and contribute to the SDGs across all topics. Moreover, they could identify the potential synergies and collaborations across the different HEIs departments by participating in the SDGs. Some indicative aspects that could possibly require attention are (a) the SD topics that the curricula currently include, (b) where the SD could naturally fit into it, and (c) where space could be found to contain new SD material (Tilbury, 2016).

At the same time, in order to estimate the level of student awareness, concern and views about sustainable topics, the HEIs should assess mainly first-year students before teaching these topics (Alsina et al., 2017). Some indicative questions that may be considered for this reason are: (1) whether students are aware of any requirements to demonstrate sustainable awareness within their programme of study; (2) whether students consider their work’s social and environmental impact as a future professional; (3) whether it is appropriate to include content about sustainability within the lessons that the students attend. The primary results of the above-mentioned questions analysis will give some guidelines and clues that HEIs should consider regarding the design and the reorientation of the ICT curricula towards sustainability. This design may incorporate topics according to the ACM/IEEE-CS and ACM/AIS curricula guidelines under the broad areas of:

  • Hardware in terms of the longevity of systems; the cost–benefit comparison between upgrading and replacing (providing information about the energy requirements for the various approaches, as well as financial and environmental costs); the efficient system power saving and design features etc.

  • Software in the context of teaching programming and data structures using SD examples (i.e., specific applications to address SD-related issues and SD-related requirements included in software specifications for programming exercises).

  • Communication and interaction in terms of distributed systems and networks for the support of SD; the IT support for concepts such as the paperless office.

  • Practice professionalism and ethical aspects (case studies on choosing to follow SD best practices or save money at the expense of sustainability).

  • Sustainable finance in terms of the software cost and licensing; the e-business and e-commerce of globalization; the role of the Internet in communications.

  • Theoretical mathematics in terms of the least spanning tree; the graph theory (e.g., shortest path through a network; minimum spanning tree); the supply chain management (e.g., the travelling salesman problem).

  • Green computing in terms of time to the failure and disposal of old hardware (e-waste recycling); the power usage of computers and ICT equipment; the requirements for regular updates in hardware; and the environmental costs for the support of the Internet era.

  • Social aspects in terms of the actual impact of the daily use of computers in society.

4 The research design of embedding sustainability into the ICT curricula

The learning outcomes evaluation of the previously mentioned sustainability topics is a critical challenge to be addressed. This evaluation can work for different purposes: collect information and record the progress and achievement of the students towards sustainable learning outcomes; spread the progress between students, identify strengths and areas for development, and apply this information to define learning goals; provide feedback regarding the success of learning and teaching procedures in order to help in the programming, implementation and improvement of these procedures (UNESCO, 2005).

For this reason, the following techniques can be used: (1) large-scale assessments of the students’ learning outcomes, (2) evaluation of learning results at the individual level, and (3) national assessments aligned with national educational priorities related to sustainability. In addition, the faculty should use a mix of more reflective and performance-based methods and traditional assessment methods (Casado-Aranda et al., 2021). These methods may include self and peer assessment that captures the insights of the students on SD aspects as a personal change, a more profound understanding of sustainability issues, and engagement. Finally, the feedback from the faculty and the peer, as well as the self-evaluation (e.g., the use of portfolios), empower the students to monitor their own learning processes and identify possibilities for improvement (Basilotta-Gómez-Pablos et al., 2022).

4.1 Research questions development

In order to implement any change in ICT curricula, the direct or indirect cooperation of several key stakeholders of the HEIs, particularly faculty and students, is required. The challenges faced in attempting to embed SD education in curricula were directly related to the concept of the lecturers, the knowledge and attitude to the subject, the expectations of the students and syllabus constraints. The recommendations and guidelines provided by UNESCO (2005) for reorienting teacher education in order to address sustainability categorize the challenges faced by teacher-educators in the following: (1) institutional resources, support and awareness; (2) prioritizing sustainability in the educational community; (3) reforming education structures and systems; (4) establishing and maintaining partnerships.

In addressing such challenges in a Greek University regarding mainly the first and second categories, we conducted a study in the spring semester of 2022 during May following a modular and progressive approach for sustainability topics that do not require transformative changes in computing courses. So based on the literature review mentioned above and identifying all these challenges, we concluded with the following research questions (RQs):

  • RQ1: Does the integration of SD education in ICT curricula improve the knowledge of the ICT students about sustainability issues and the environmental impact of their studies?

  • RQ2: What are the perceptions of the ICT students regarding the contribution of university education to environmental awareness and the organization and promotion of sustainability activities in the university community?

  • RQ3: Does an educational intervention affect the perceptions of the ICT students regarding the necessity for the inclusion of sustainability in the university ICT curricula?

  • RQ4: Does the integration of a unit sustainability-related in ICT curricula positively affect the intention of the ICT students to engage in sustainability and raise their awareness about sustainable IT?

  • RQ5: Does the provision of rewards positively affect the involvement and engagement of the ICT students with sustainable IT?

5 Methodology

In order to answer the five RQs mentioned above, an interventional study was conducted (Ranganathan, 2019). For this reason, we developed and implemented four independent green computing modules for the Computer Networks undergraduate course at the Department of Informatics of the University of Piraeus in Greece. The content focussed on sustainable IT and the implementation of a number of the SDGs, which have strong relevance to the academic ICT environment. In particular, we aimed to ensure that all students acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote SD (SDG 4.7); increase the use of renewable energy through both international cooperation and expanded infrastructure and technology for clean energy (SDG 7); focus on the promotion of sustainable consumption and production patterns through innovations around an e-waste reduction, and an increase in recycling, reuse, and prevention practices (SDG 12); require strategies and policies for the improvement of awareness-raising, education and institutional and human capacity on mitigation, impact reduction, early warning and adaptation to climate change (SDG 13) (United Nations, 2015).

  • Module 1: Green computing introductory module including general concepts and principles of sustainability and green computing, background, and motivation for green computing.

  • Module 2: Energy saving module including algorithms for energy optimization and power saving techniques for wireless sensor networks and graph-theoretic algorithms for energy saving in IP networks.

  • Module 3: E-waste module including electronic network devices, waste disposal and recycling, and regulatory compliance.

  • Module 4: Energy Consumption in Cloud Computing Data Centers module, including why saving energy is vital to data centers, standard energy-saving practices in data centers and sustainable web design.

These modules were presented in the current Computer Networks course during two (2) lectures at a two-week interval over a 4-week period in May 2022: Module 1 and Module 2 were presented during the first lecture (week 1), and Module 3 and Module 4 during the second lecture (week 4). This action provided the students with the chance to reflect and think about the benefits of the course and its content. The lecturers were developed with the following objectives: (a) to provide students with the principles of issues relevant to sustainable IT; (b) to increase the level of student awareness, concern, and views relevant to sustainable topics; and (c) to estimate their reactions and intention about integrating and teaching these topics into the ICT curricula eventually.

5.1 Data collection—instruments

The methodological approach for this experimental research was based on pre-test and post-test data from a nonrandomized control group of sixty students in order to compare and measure the degree of changes occurring as a result of the mentioned curriculum intervention. The students provided their feedback anonymously by using two survey questionnaires, with most of the questions included being common: the first questionnaire (pre-test) was filled out at the very beginning of the first lecture, and the second (post-test) at the end of the second lecture. An identification code generated by the students in both questionnaires was used to match the pre-test and post-test data for the same student. In total, eight of the matching questionnaires were excluded from the final analysis because students did not fully answer the questions. For this reason, the remaining sample size was fifty-two students.

The development of the questionnaires began with a review of the relevant literature, taking into consideration findings and key points discussed in the Introduction. Then, the choice of items was based on the subject of the study, the problems involved, and the focus of the RQs described above. The items were close-ended (multiple-choice and 7-point rating scale from 1 = strongly disagree to 7 = strongly agree) and open-ended. Table 4 presents the structure of each questionnaire: the first questionnaire comprised five sections (A1, A2, B, C and D) and included a total of twenty-eight items; the second questionnaire comprised five sections (A1, B, C, D, E and F) and included a total of twenty-seven items. Sections A1, B, C and D were common in each questionnaire, contained the same items and were used for the pre-test and post-test data in our research.

Table 4 Structure of the first (pre-test) and the second (post-test) questionnaire
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Prior to starting the main survey, the questionnaires were administered as a purposive sample to five students at another university to pre-test construct and face validity – the extent to which the measure used appeared to be reliable. This procedure was essential to assess the suitability of the questionnaires to the participants. Subsequently, the questionnaires were submitted to an expert (researcher and academician) for feedback to ensure the clarity of the questions, increase accuracy and meet the study focus and purpose. Then, they were administered for full-scale research.

In addition, the Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of reliability was calculated to measure and validate the internal consistency of each used questionnaire. A ‘high’ value of Cronbach’s alpha is often cited as evidence that the items measure an underlying (or latent) construct (along with substantive arguments and possibly additional statistical measures). All the pre-questions (a = 0.79) and all the post-questions (a = 0.81) were very close or surpassed the recommended limit of 0.80.(Nunnally & Bernstein, 1994). The statistical analyses were performed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), version 27.

5.2 Statistical analysis techniques

Further to the Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of reliability, as previously mentioned above, descriptive and inferential statistical methods were applied to secondary variables, called constructs, in order to evaluate the effect of the above-described intervention. These constructs expressed specific meaning groups of the primary variables of both questionnaires. They were produced properly by calculating the average value of the original variables after the reverse questions have been appropriately recoded, in order to explore their cumulative effect between the lectures. In addition, the constructs also expressed specific dimensions of sustainability in the ICT curricula, such as sustainability knowledge, university contribution, sustainable curricula, and sustainability intention. These dimensions corresponded to the first four RQs raised previously (Table 5), and they are presented analytically in the Results and Discussion section.

Table 5 The constructs derived from the statistical analysis of pre-test and post-test data (scale 1 = strongly disagree to 7 = strongly agree)
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More specifically, the central tendency and variability measures were calculated for quantitative variables and percentages for categorical variables (Bersimis et al., 2022). In addition, the paired samples t-test for equality of means for dependent samples was applied in the four constructs (Table 6) mentioned above (David & Gunnink, 1997). The appropriate normality test of Kolmogorov–Smirnov & Shapiro–Wilk had preceded even if the sample size was sufficiently large (52 > 30) in order to assume the normality of the sample mean asymptotically (Curran-Everett, 2017; Hanusz & Tarasińska, 2015).

Table 6 Paired sample statistics
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6 Results and discussion

6.1 Students demographics information – Section A1

The two questionnaires were filled out by fifty-two students: thirty-five men (67.31%) and seventeen women (32.70%). The students were overall young, with an age range of 19–20 for 84.62% (N = 44) of them, 21–25 for 11.54% (N = 6), while one student was 47 (1.92%) and another one 58 (1.92%). In addition, most students had the Attica region as their place of residence (N = 34, 65.39%), while the 34.62% (N = 18) of them lived outside of Attica.

6.2 Prior knowledge about sustainability and the SDGs—Section A2

For the vast majority of the students (N = 48, 92.30%), this was the first educational unit they had attended regarding sustainability. The results indicate that prior to our intervention, the majority of the students had either poor or no awareness of the SDGs: 61.54% (N = 32) had never heard of them, while 34.62% (N = 18), although they had heard, they did not know exactly what SDGs was. On the contrary, only 3.85% (N = 2) of the students claimed that they have heard and know what SDGs are about. These results highlight a deficient level of understanding of the concept of SDGs and indicate that the concept of sustainability has not been sufficiently developed in HEIs.

However, the results indicated that the primary students’ information sources for environmental issues (i.e., global warming, etc.) are the Internet (N = 49, 94.23%), the social networks (N = 31, 59.62%), and their teachers-educators (N = 22, 42.31%). These findings confirm the decisive role of the social media in influencing and shaping awareness about environmental sustainability among students (Tafesse, 2022). Yet, they provide a significant potential for the HEIs to fully leverage the ubiquity of social media in order to extend and promote how the students and faculty perceive environmental sustainability.

Figure 1 shows the perceptions of the students regarding the contribution of the educational system to their environmental awareness. As one may notice in this figure, most students have been encouraged by primary education to think and act in a more environment-friendly manner (N = 33, 63.46%). On the contrary, only 7.69% (N = 4) believe that the university has supported this knowledge. These results may be considered as evidence, and they comply with the literature review mentioned above about the weak integration of SD education in ICT education and the apparent weakness of Greek universities in spreading sustainability issues in higher education.

Fig. 1
figure 1

Contribution of education to environmental awareness of the students

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6.3 Knowledge of the students about sustainability issues and the environmental impact of their studies – Section B

The statistical analysis of the students’ responses to section B questions has revealed one construct related to RQ1, sustainability knowledge. As shown in Table 5, five of the questions contribute to the development of this construct, which reflects the understanding of the students about the concept of sustainability issues and the environmental impact of their ICT studies. The mean pre-test score for the sustainability knowledge of the students is 3.40 (± 0.68), while the mean post-test score is 4.08 (± 0.71) (Table 6). The t-test for paired samples was performed on these data, and the findings revealed a statistically significant gain (t = -5.79; p < 0.01). The effect size (Cohen’s-d) is 1, which implies that the post-test scores are slightly more than a standard deviation better than the pre-test scores (Cohen, 1988). This is considered a large effect size and ascertains the significant increment of the knowledge about sustainability and the environmental impact of the ICT studies. It is important to note that most of the students (N = 48, 92.31%) expressed their willingness to obtain more knowledge about SD. These results may be considered a good indicator that encourages HEIs to integrate sustainability issues into ICT education.

Nevertheless, it should be noted that the theoretical knowledge of the students should also be supported with frequent real practices in some subjects, e.g., experiencing an e-waste management system by embedding green environmental tools into the campus. According to the study results, environmental knowledge has some influence on the development of eco-friendly behaviour. This indication aligned with past studies that mention that promoting sustainability knowledge in the university can further strengthen the attitudes of the students towards sustainable development, thus affecting sustainable behaviour (Tilbury, 2016; Žalėnienė & Pereira, 2021). Therefore, HEIs play an active role in promoting sustainable behaviour development. Meanwhile, sustainable education in HEIs should stress teaching sustainability knowledge and the cultivation of a sustainable attitude among university students.

6.4 Perceptions of the students regarding the contribution of university education to environmental awareness and the organization and promotion of sustainability activities in the university community – Section C

The statistical analysis of the students’ responses to section C questions has revealed one construct related to RQ2, university contribution. As shown in Table 5, three of the questions contribute to the development of this construct, which reflects the perceptions of the students regarding the contribution of university ICT education to environmental awareness and the organization and promotion of sustainability activities in the university community. The mean pre-test score for the university contribution is 4.40 (± 0.77) (neutral response option). This neutral option shows students who are ignorant about or indifferent to the subject and support the previous results shown in Fig. 1 about the weak integration of SD issues in university ICT education. The mean post-test score is 5.37 (± 0.74) (Table 6), with the results showing a statistically significant gain (t = -6.62; p < 0.01). The effect size (Cohen’s d) is 1.26, which is considered a high effect size and ascertains the significant increment of the perception of the students about the contribution of the university to SD education.

This positive perception caused by our intervention, as well as what the students expressed in the previous questions regarding their interest in SD and their willingness to obtain more education about it, imposes on the HEIs the inevitability of reconsidering their approach to sustainability-provided ICT education. It should also be noted that a significant 19.1% of the students do not express concern for and willingness to participate in sustainability-related informational activities. This result aligns with the literature (Cheung et al., 2021; Kyle, 2020) and implies the need for HEIs to enhance their environmental sustainability practices and improve the visibility of these practices for students to embrace and commit to them.

6.5 Perceptions of the students regarding the necessity for the inclusion of sustainability in the university ICT curricula – Section C

The statistical analysis of the students’ responses to the section C questions has revealed one more construct related to RQ3, sustainable curricula. As shown in Table 5, three of the questions contribute to the development of this construct, which reflects the perceptions of the students regarding the necessity for the inclusion of sustainability in the university ICT curricula. The mean pre-test score for sustainable curricula is 4.76 (± 1.26), while the mean post-test score is 5.11 (± 0.81) (Table 6). The t-test for paired samples was performed on these data, and the findings revealed a non-statistically significant but relatively high gain (t = -1.73; p = 0.09). The corresponding effect size (Cohen’s d) is 0.28, which is considered a small to medium effect size. The previously mentioned result, which is not considered statistically significant, even marginally, may highlight a certain trend in the readiness of the students to learn more about sustainability issues. This trend could be an incentive for HEIs to integrate SD issues into ICT education.

In fact, the results presented in our study are in line with the results of a number of previous studies conducted in other countries, which confirmed the perception of the students about the importance of SD for their future careers and thus το benefit the surrounding society (Boyce et al., 2019; Gomes et al., 2021; Liu et al., 2020). Moreover, the emerging outcomes suggest a need to reorient the current ICT curricula of the bachelor degrees to focus more on sustainability and e-waste management. This sustainable reorientation can possibly take effect with actions such as: allowing students to take elective courses on sustainability; providing systematic and planned education for SD to faculty; strengthening the link between the social and the natural sciences; inviting guest lecturers to deliver sessions about sustainability and e-waste topics (Utama et al., 2018).

6.6 Intention of the students to engage in sustainability and raise their awareness about sustainable IT -Section D

The statistical analysis of the students’ responses to the section D questions has revealed one construct related to RQ4, sustainability intention. As shown in Table 5, three of the questions contribute to the development of this construct, which reflects the intention of the students to engage in sustainability and raise their awareness about sustainable IT. The mean pre-test score for sustainability intention is 4.86 (± 0.81), while the mean post-test score is 5.56 (± 0.69) (Table 6). The t-test for paired samples was performed on these data, and the findings revealed a statistically significant gain (t = -4.74; p < 0.01). The effect size (Cohen’s d) is 0.88. This is considered a large effect size, and thus the significant increment of the intention of the students to engage in sustainability is ascertained. The findings implied that the substantial increment in the knowledge about the sustainability of the students might positively affect their intention to engage in sustainability, hence confirming previous studies that mention that environmental knowledge is essential in influencing individual intention and behaviour towards sustainability (Fabi et al., 2017; Swaim et al., 2014). Similarly, Gkargkavouzi et al. (2019) reported that intention is the best predictor of environmental behaviour.

It also should be noted that environmental knowledge helps students make intentional and practical environmental actions and affects their environmental well-being, attitude and socio-cultural norms (Hallinger & Chatpinyakoop, 2019). Indeed, people are willing to engage in sustainable behaviour when they are more confident in their abilities and skills. For this reason, promoting sustainability knowledge in the university can further strengthen the attitudes of the students towards sustainable development, thus affecting sustainable behaviour (Otto & Pensini, 2017); hence educational planners should pay more attention and promote environmental knowledge and how to integrate it with other fields of knowledge in universities in order to cultivate the green intentions of the students.

6.7 The provision of rewards positively affects the involvement and engagement of the students with sustainable IT – Section E

Table 7 shows the means of the responses to questions Q1 (M1 = 5.75 (± 1.41)) and Q2 (M2 = 5.83 (± 1.34)). These questions from section E reflect the effect of rewarding the involvement of the students with sustainable IT. The data were subjected to the one-sample t test, with the results showing a significant difference from the fixed value 4 = neither disagree or neither agree (t = 8.93; p < 0.01) and (t = 9.84; p < 0.01) respectively. These results indicate that rewards for actions focused on sustainability may have a significant positive impact on the overall sustainable behaviour of the students. The results are aligned with past studies that reported how rewards encourage students to take socially responsible and environmentally sustainable well-being actions (e.g., using more efficient, sustainable means of transportation) (Holst, 2022; Žalėnienė & Pereira, 2021).

Table 7 The effect of rewarding on the involvement and engagement of the students with sustainable IT
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The literature also mentions that the reward allows HEIs to recognize the valuable contribution each person makes to the overall sustainable adjustment of the campus (Alsina et al., 2017; Biasutti et al., 2016; Kukkonen et al., 2018). To this approach, it is recommended that HEIs should design and implement interactive, rewarding programmes. These programs reward faculty and students for the behaviours that improve individual and university-wide sustainability and well-being, make sustainability involvement and engagement relevant to the campus environment and stress the collective impact that the actions of the faculty and students can have.

6.8 Suggestions by the students for creating a sustainable campus network – Section F

The question of section F, «Note the ways or actions in which you would like the university to engage with the SDGs, Sustainability and Sustainable ΙΤ – Creating a Sustainable University Network», aimed to record the proposals of the students on how to integrate SD issues into ICT education and create a sustainable university network. Figure 2 presents the suggestions of the students and illustrates the preference rate per suggestion. It is obvious from these data that five of the seven in total proposals receive a preference rate of 50 per cent or more. This result is evidence of the students’ lively interest in engaging with sustainability and their potential support for environmental activities.

Fig. 2
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The suggestions of the students for creating a sustainable campus network

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Although some studies argue that engineering students are less eager to participate in actions to support the environment than other types of students, i.e., humanistic discipline students (Biasutti & Frate, 2017; Kukkonen et al., 2018), our results enhance a positive sustainability perspective. But, again, this exposes the need for engineering and ICT education to emphasize sustainability issues in the curricula. Consequently, in order for students to actually participate in these sustainability actions proposed by themselves, the HEIs campuses should provide infrastructures to support and facilitate these actions. Finally and more importantly, HEIS should create opportunities where students could be involved by themselves in the greening of campus initiatives.

7 Conclusions and recommendations

This paper dealt with the topic of integrating SD issues into higher education to reach the goals of the UN 2030 Agenda, especially in ICT education. The literature revealed that a holistic approach towards a sustainable university, which can support and contribute to the successful implementation of the SDGs, is required. This approach, among others, involves the inclusion of sustainability issues in the ICT curricula that also provides significant opportunities for HEIs to impact longer-term sustainability in society.

In that aspect, the first part of our research analyzed the challenges of integrating SD education in the HEIs and recorded the essential principles that could guide this integration. Moreover, this paper provided suggestions to start the development of ICT curricula with sustainability issues. In addition, the desired competencies (i.e., communication, critical thinking skills), pedagogical approaches (i.e., collaborative problem-solving), and expected learning outcomes that may be used to support this development were presented.

In the review literature, we have mentioned that HEIs should develop sustainable knowledge, values, and understanding among students in ways that will help shape the viewpoints and attitudes of future citizens, leaders, and policymakers. This inclusion aims to produce a new generation of ICT professionals with the skills and competencies that enable them to deal with sustainability-related issues after graduation. Towards this direction, the second part of our experimental research examined the integration of SD issues in ICT education in a Greek university from the perspectives of the students. The results were based on the processing of two questionnaires (pre-test and post-test) distributed during two lectures regarding sustainable IT at a two-week interval. Our research assessed the integration of sustainability issues in ICT education from various viewpoints. These viewpoints included the extent of the knowledge of the students had about the concept of sustainability and the perceptions of the students regarding the contribution of university education to environmental awareness. Yet, the necessity for the inclusion of sustainability in the university ICT curricula. Our research also aimed to explore the intention of the students to engage in sustainability because of the education intervention and the potential effect of the reward on the involvement and engagement of the students with sustainable IT.

The outcomes of the study denoted that although the majority of the students had heard about the concept of sustainability from the media and acknowledged the importance of SD for the society, they had a deficient level of understanding of the concept of SDGs because of the apparent weakness in incorporating sustainability issues in ICT education in Greece. On the other hand, they showed a significant increment of knowledge regarding sustainability and the environmental impact of ICT studies. In any case, the study outcomes revealed that the students were unsatisfied with the contribution of the university towards sustainability. For this reason, they proposed different awareness activities (Fig. 2) to support their engagement with sustainability in an inclusive manner. These activities may become an opportunity for the whole university community to implement SD education successfully.

The study results also provided insights for Greek universities to reorient the ICT curricula in order to integrate sustainability issues. Upon the completion of our educational intervention, students showed a positive attitude towards integrating sustainable IT issues into their ICT education. They claimed that the appropriate method to integrate these issues into ICT education is to incorporate them into the relevant courses in their current ICT curricula. The success of this potential integration may contribute to achieving the goals of the 2030 Agenda for SD by graduating IT professionals who can deal with sustainability issues, thus, increasing the value and effectiveness of the universities in Greece.

The findings of the study proved that the direct effect of the educational intervention on the intention of the students to engage in sustainability was significant. This result highlighted that intention might be enhanced through sustainability-oriented practices implemented by the HEIs and might be supported further with the implementation of rewarding programs that HEIs offer. Furthermore, this evidence denoted that embedding SD education and SDGs values into ICT curricula yielded positive results on the students both in the short and the long term as it: (a) improved their knowledge about sustainability and the environmental impact of their studies; (b) supported the process of becoming a university sustainable, hence, participate in sustainability initiatives undertaken by the university would enable them to develop skills in dealing with sustainability issues in their lives; (c) enhanced their intention to be connected with their environment and their community.

The major contribution of this study is the mapping and the delimitation of the global research trend regarding the challenges faced by HEIs supporting the transformations required in view of achieving the SDGs and, more specifically, the integration of sustainability issues into the ICT curricula. Furthermore, this study provides experimental validation about the effect of SD education on the involvement and engagement of ICT students in sustainability. This area is relatively underdeveloped empirically and theoretically, as there is a lack of sufficient studies that investigate sustainable interventions in the ICT curricula in higher education. In response, the results underpinned the positive role of the integration of sustainable IT into the ICT curricula in order for students to engage in sustainability and raise their awareness about sustainable IT.

8 Limitations and future steps

One limitation of this research is the fact that the presented experiment was conducted in only one department of one Greek university. Therefore, the results may differ in another university with a different context and academic experience. Another limitation can be the fact that the sample size was not large due to the challenging academic adaptation of students after the complete removal of the restrictions applied for two years regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, the sample is adequate to assume that each variable’s sample mean is asymptotically normally distributed; therefore, parametric inferential statistical methods can be applied.

In order to enhance the generalization of the findings and to incorporate the ICT sustainable curricula in the HEIs, future studies should replicate the educational intervention in different types of HEIs. Furthermore, future research could examine the effect of the implementation of the students’ suggestions (Fig. 2) for creating a sustainable campus network in adding value to the education of ICT students and the social responsibility of the university. Finally, future research could contribute to identifying specific strategies and providing clues that relate to the successful integration of sustainable–oriented practices in ICT curricula.