Hospitality students' perceptions of digital tools for learning and sustainable development

This purpose of this paper is to interpret how students utilise technology for their own learning and the implications for sustainability. It reports on the comparison drawn between final year undergraduate Hospitality students at three academic institutions in Dubai, England and Switzerland. An exploratory approach is deployed at this initial stage of this research where students’ perceptions were gauged through a series of focus groups conducted at each organisation. They were firstly asked to identify the most commonly used activities that they deployed for learning, in the context of their degree programme. The results from both stages of the research are presented which highlights the key determinants and drivers that influence the choice of eLearning tools and reveals the relationship between learning activities, eLearning tools and perceptions of sustainability. Understanding how students engage with eLearning tools for sustainable development can benefit Universities by improving their ESD strategy. It also provides students with an awareness of their role in sustainable development and it contributes to their employability as it makes them more globally aware citizens.