Abstract:

Nowadays, social media tools are continuously expanding and gain more popularity along with the increased usage of digital devices, on one hand and users sophistication, on the other hand. The studies reveal that social media usage in higher education can build a good image and also enhance students’ engagement in educational process. This tools have a significant impact in cultivating the organizational culture.

The present article aims to analyze the rising importance of social media tools integrated in higher education. A quantitatively and qualitatively analysis was deployed in order to find out the displayed information through Facebook platform of Technical University from Romania in four years: from 2017 to -2020, concerning sustainable development education.

The specific information was selected according to sustainable development objectives presented in the 2030 European Union’s Agenda.

The results states that the predominant announcements are related to the objective of industry, innovation and infrastructure, with a maximum frequency in 2018 and a minimum in 2019. Announcements related to sustainable cities and communities, respectively clean energy at affordable prices, were posted in all the four years equally. Regarding the categories of gender equality and the reduction of inequalities, it can be seen that UTCN's integrated communication strategies did not prioritize these issues. The interest in climate action started only in 2019, with a considerable increase in 2020. Also the students’ engagement was computed by each topic.

The study reveal that the number of posts related to sustainable development is relatively small, compared to the total number of posts: in 2020 – 14.82%, 2019 - 12.81%, in 2018 - 13.75%, in 2017 - 10.85%. Moreover, the most promoted information are those from the following category: industry, innovation and quality infrastructure and education. Also, there are some very poorly represented objectives on this platform, such as: responsible consumption and production and reducing inequalities.

Keywords:

Social media, education, universities, sustainable development.