The role of digital inclusion in galvanising sustainable higher education in the 5th industrial revolution

Higher education plays an important role in enhancing the innovation capacity in a country. While the digital transformation of the 4th and 5th industrial revolution is making it possible for people globally to have access to quality education, in many countries, the transformative power of digitalisation is not being optimised because of the digital exclusion of many people leading to illiteracy and a rise in poverty. This represents a major issue. To address this issue, a systematic literature review was carried out to provide empirical evidence on the role of digital inclusion in driving sustainable higher education. It presents itself as one of the earliest studies to study the impact of digital inclusion on sustainable higher education. The results of this study show the importance of digital inclusion in leading sustainable higher education and economic development - through supporting knowledge sharing, open innovation, research collaboration, education quality, and employability of labour.