Citation: Orphanidou, Y.; Efthymiou, L.; Panayiotou, G. Cultural Heritage for Sustainable Education Amidst Digitalisation. Sustainability 2024, 16, 1540. https://doi.org/10.3390/ su16041540 Academic Editors: Rustam Shadiev, Barry Lee Reynolds and Rui Li Received: 24 November 2023 Revised: 6 February 2024 Accepted: 7 February 2024 Published: 11 February 2024 Copyright: © 2024 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/). sustainability Article Cultural Heritage for Sustainable Education Amidst Digitalisation Yianna Orphanidou , Leonidas Efthymiou * and George Panayiotou School of Business, Department of Management, University of Nicosia, Nicosia 2417, Cyprus; orphanidou.y@unic.ac.cy (Y.O.); panayiotou.g@unic.ac.cy (G.P.) * Correspondence: efthymiou.l@unic.ac.cy Abstract: The integration of cultural heritage in education facilitates critical thinking, experiential learning, cross-cultural collaborative learning and ultimately, quality learning experiences. This process is further enhanced by the increasing adoption of digital technology, which makes education more accessible. However, some countries in the European Union have low digital literacy and a high student dropout rate. Also, the use of cultural heritage in education is declining as young learners are becoming increasingly unaware of their cultural identity. Within this framework, a study of mixed methods (questionnaires and interviews) was conducted in three European countries to examine digital and cultural heritage competencies among young learners. The results of the paper reveal how digital cultural heritage increases learners’ resilience by promoting competences for digital transformation, which in turn enhances learning and engagement with cultural heritage. Drawing on our findings, the paper proposes a new innovative hybrid model within the framework of sustainable education (SE). Keywords: sustainability; cultural heritage; digitalisation; skills; education; hybrid teaching; sustainable education; sustainable learning 1. Introduction 1.1. Research Context The current article explores how the embracement of cultural heritage in education through the adoption of digital technology can cultivate learners’ skills and further con- tribute to sustainable education (Figure 1). Sustainable education (SE) refers to teaching and learning practices, skills and strategies which facilitate lifelong learning inside and outside the classroom [1]. According to Doukanari et al. [2], “research on sustainable education ex- amines a wide range of learning practices, methods, and strategies, and how they consider, adapt to, and meet the diverse needs of student cohorts” (2021:1). The authors explain how SE has gradually expanded to comprise a wide range of practices and strategies, vary- ing from sustainable feedback, students’ sustainable development, problem-solving and hands-on experiences through to field trips, inter-disciplinary learning, internationalisation, sustainable curricula metrics, Multicultural Teamwork (MMT), Case-based Learning (CBL) and Problem-based Learning (PBL), among others. According to Sterling [3], sustainable education (SE) can achieve an essential cultural shift. Cultural heritage learning fosters respect and understanding for cultural diversity, promotes intercultural discussion and contributes to more resilient and inclusive commu- nities [4–6]. Cultural heritage refers to behaviours, beliefs, habits and artefacts that are passed down from generation to generation, forming a community’s or society’s identity. History, architecture, art, music, literature and language are all included, as are traditional knowledge, rituals and festivals [7]. Cultural heritage not only provides individuals and communities with a sense of pride and identity, but it also plays an important role in promoting intercultural discourse, protecting biodiversity and developing social cohesion. Sustainability 2024, 16, 1540. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16041540 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability