Digital transformation in the education sector has implied the involvement of sustainable management, in order to adapt to the changes imposed by new technologies. Trends in global research on this topic have been analyzed and studied, during the 1986–2019 period. To achieve this purpose, a bibliometric study of 1590 articles from the Scopus database has been applied. The results provided data on the scientific productivity of authors, journals, institutions, and countries that contribute to the development of this research area. The evidence reveals an exponential trend, with special interest in the last five years. The main categories are Social Sciences and Environmental Science. The most productive journal is Sustainability. The author with more articles is Mulder, from The Hague University of Applied Sciences. The most productive institution is Delft University of Technology. The USA is the country with the most academic publications and international collaborations in its studies. The main keywords used in the articles are “sustainability”, “sustainable development”, “higher education”, “innovation”, “technology”, “environmental technology”, “technological development”, and “environmental management”. Global research has followed a growing trend, with optimal publication levels in recent years.

Since the 18th century, Germany is perhaps one of the European countries that has had the most intense public debate on dishonest scientific and academic practices, particularly in relation to doctoral theses. This debate was particularly productive in the late 19th century, giving rise thereafter to the obligatory publication of all doctoral theses as a prior requisite before the title of Doctor can be conferred by any German university. This paper presents the most significant progress regarding plagiarism and academic integrity, especially since the 2011 scandal concerning plagiarism in the doctoral thesis of the Minister Guttenberg, such as the creation of an effective collaborative investigation method for plagiarism in a scientific or academic work using the Internet and social media, which resulted in the «VroniPlag» Wiki. Also, the last two years have seen the definitive consolidation of the figure of «Ombudsman for Science» as a national instrument to prevent, manage and combat scientific dishonesty, as well as the publication in 2013 of a new version of the reference manual in this regard, «Safeguarding Good Scientific Practice». Finally, this paper analyses the conclusions of the German experience about academic ethics from a historical perspective, since its recent achievements and progress can serve as a reference for other European countries. Alemania es quizá uno de los países europeos que, ya desde el siglo XVIII, ha mantenido un debate público más intenso sobre prácticas científicas y académicas deshonestas, relacionadas especialmente con tesis doctorales. Este debate fue especialmente productivo a finales del siglo XIX, dando lugar desde entonces, para evitar estas prácticas inaceptables, a la obligatoriedad de publicar todas las tesis doctorales, como requisito previo a la expedición del título de doctor por cualquier universidad alemana. Este trabajo analiza los avances más importantes en plagio e integridad académica en Alemania, especialmente después del escándalo surgido en 2011 a raíz del plagio de la tesis doctoral del Ministro de Defensa Guttenberg, como son la creación de una eficaz metodología colaborativa de investigación del plagio en trabajos científicos o académicos utilizando Internet y las redes sociales, materializada en la Wiki «VroniPlag». También se describe someramente en este trabajo la consolidación definitiva de la figura del «Defensor de la Ciencia», como instrumento de ámbito nacional para prevenir, gestionar y combatir la deshonestidad científica, aparte de la publicación en 2013 de una nueva versión del manual de referencia al respecto «Sicherung guter wissenschaftlicher Praxis». Por último se analizan las conclusiones de la experiencia alemana relacionada con la ética académica, también desde una perspectiva histórica, pues sus recientes logros y avances pueden servir de referencia a otros países europeos.