A hybrid assessment framework for human‐centred sustainable smart campus: A case study on COVID‐19 impact

Abstract

The continuous development of modern information and communication technologies is driving the smart revolution in the global education system. The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has recently posed unprecedented challenges to educational institutes. The education informatisation technologies are playing a vital role to ensure the continuity and enhance the performance of education during the pandemic, which accelerates the integration of cutting-edge technologies and thus the overall development of the smart campus. Alongside the technological advancement, the existing studies indicate that the success of smart campus development mainly depends on three key dimensions: technology capability, sustainability, and student health and well-being. However, the state-of-the-art assessment on smart campus are mostly unilaterally dependent but lack a balanced evaluation of the three dimensions. To bridge this gap, this paper proposes a hybrid assessment framework that integrates all three key aspects, aiming to provide a multi-dimensional view of campus smartness for human-centred sustainable development. The smart campus assessment index resulting from the proposed framework is constructed under a limiting factor formulation to jointly model the individual contributions from the three dimensions as well as their trade-off relationship. The contribution from each dimension is the weighted normalised sum of a set of precisely selected indicators. A case study is also conducted on the historical data of a US university to investigate the effectiveness of the proposed framework and the assessment index in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which also demonstrates the rationality of the hybrid framework for smart campus assessment.

Traversing the Evolution of Research on Engineering Education for Sustainability: A Bibliometric Review (1991–2022)

“…Lastly, this review of research uncovered significant challenges and potential solutions for integrating sustainability into engineering education curricula [37,85,91,120]. The obstacles include the complexities of replacing existing content, resource limitations, a limited understanding of sustainability's social and economic dimensions, and the practical application of sustainability principles in engineering practice [12,72,107].…”

“…The concentration of Chinese scholars in this school suggests the significant emphasis Chinese policymakers have placed on leveraging innovative technologies to tackle sustainability challenges [4,78,85,86]. Notably, the network map highlights both the physical isolation of this school as well as limited connections between the Chinese scholars and scholars in the other schools.…”

“…This research has also examined curricular approaches that focus on industry responses to environmental regulation [80][81][82] and the implementation of sustainable manufacturing [83,84]. Findings from these studies underscore the role of government support, industry partnerships, and interdisciplinary collaboration when engineering programs seek to incorporate cutting-edge innovations [78,80,[85][86][87].…”

“…Research in this domain has also explored the transformative impact of information and communication technology (ICT) on sustainability-focused engineering education, particularly in the development of smart campuses [85,88,89]. Scholars have identified five ICT drivers behind this change [85]: (1) data computing and storage technologies (e.g., cloud and edge computing) [90,91]; (2) Internet of Things technologies (e.g., smart sensors and communication protocols) [92][93][94]; (3) intelligent technologies (e.g., artificial intelligence, machine learning, and computation intelligence) [95][96][97]; (4) immersive technologies (e.g., augmented and virtual reality) [98][99][100][101]; and (5) mobile technologies (e.g., mobile phones and tablets) [100,102]. These studies shed light on the transformative potential of these technologies, offering data-driven insights into their pivotal role in shaping the future of sustainability-focused engineering education programs.…”

The Impact and Future of Edible Landscape on Sustainable Development of Universities: A Systematic Literature Review

“…Therefore, introducing edible landscapes in universities can enhance campus viewing and interaction. According to Ribeiro's (2021) research suggests that university sustainable development communication strategies can help enhance students' awareness and importance of sustainable development (Ribeiro et al, 2021) An evaluation index for changes during the lockdown period indicates that the pandemic has significantly increased the sustainability contribution of students, but has had a negative impact on their physical and mental health and safety (Yip et al, 2022). Recent studies have shown that participating in planting activities can effectively alleviate the stress caused by pandemics and help promote mental health.…”