Sustainable digital education technologies: an analysis of selection processes in European universities

The digital transformation of education has rapidly evolved in recent years, driven by advancements in technology and further accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Digital education Technologies (DETs) have become integral to higher education, reshaping how institutions deliver learning and manage resources. However, despite the widespread adoption of DETs, there has been limited focus on the sustainability of these technologies. This paper explores how sustainability considerations are integrated into DET selection processes at European Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) through semi-structured interviews with key decision-makers. The research focuses on three sustainability dimensions-environmental, social, and technological-and their impact on decision-making. The results indicate that while HEIs are making efforts toward sustainability, economic considerations still dominate the decision-making process. Moreover, the emphasis across sustainability dimensions remains unbalanced: social dimensions, such as privacy, are prioritized over environmental dimensions due to the former being treated as knockout criteria and due to a lack of reliable data on the environmental impacts of DETs. This study also identifies several challenges, including long procurement processes, limited financial resources, and heavy dependence on external service providers for digital infrastructure. The findings offer insights into how HEIs can better align their digital strategies with broader sustainability goals.