The Industry 4.0 landscape refers to a new way of organizing the means of production, characterized by the implementation and interconnection of advanced technologies. This new revolution will blur the boundaries between the physical, digital, and biological spheres, with radically disruptive implications across all areas of activity, and will drastically change the approaches and expected outcomes of higher education. Therefore, understanding, adapting to, and successfully implementing these changes in a field as cross-cutting as education—both in the workplace and prior to entering the workforce—is more vital than ever. Platoniq is excited to be part of this challenge and sees some clear priorities for the coming years.

Identifying the hard and soft skills needed in Industry 4.0 and creating high-quality educational resources will be a major challenge. This could be addressed by retraining people who are already part of the workforce; identifying pioneering educational initiatives and models that have been successful (or devising new ones); and by providing a framework for the joint creation of new training programs that effectively meet the demand for equipping the workforce with the necessary skills, while also preparing the next generation of workers for Industry 4.0. The role of teachers is crucial here, as they will serve as guides and facilitators for learning processes that are completely different from what we are currently accustomed to seeing.

Building a network of Universities of the Future that prepares for this transition to Education 4.0 will require attention and effort on the part of the project partners, including designing a roadmap to catalyze the creation of the UoF Open Association and its resources, as well as identifying ways to sustain an effective collaborative network. In the coming years, it will be necessary to create prototypes of decentralized partnerships between higher education institutions, alumni, and businesses.

Finally, one of the major debates currently taking place in various fields centers on the ethics of Industry 4.0. Even the European Economic and Social Committee has called for a code of ethics to govern its development, implementation, and use, to ensure, for example, that “AI systems remain compatible with the principles of human dignity, integrity, freedom, and cultural and gender diversity, as well as with fundamental human rights.”

Platoniq reflects on whether, however, ethical considerations often focus only on individual misuses of technology—such as the arms race, data protection issues, the mistreatment of robots, and so on—and lack a systemic perspective, failing to recognize the amplification of injustice, which is a fundamental challenge that must be addressed. Structural oppression exists in all our communities and societies: without an active transformation of power relations, AI and Industry 4.0 will perpetuate, reproduce, and amplify this harm. Furthermore, who is responsible for leading a socially and environmentally just transition toward the future of industry and education? How can we ensure that the burden of this change does not fall solely on the shoulders of those who are striving to retrain professionally or who risk being laid off?

Drawing on Platoniq’s experience with social innovation and participatory processes, we believe that one way to keep these reflections front and center is to devise solutions collaboratively, involving stakeholders who experience different sides of the issue. As stated here, “co-creation harnesses the collective vision and potential of groups and can be used to generate innovative solutions when existing models fall short. It is especially useful when it brings together diverse stakeholders facing a common challenge,” which is exactly the case with the Universities of the Future project.

In order to support collaboration across different sectors, put the co-creation methodology into practice, and keep the perspectives of human justice and sustainability at the heart of the future development of Industry 4.0 (as hoped for by the signatories of the Copenhagen Charter), Platoniq has organized “Train the Trainers,” a two-day event that helped participants prepare for the 33 events planned as part of the Universities of the Future project.

Academic institutions and business partners in Portugal, Finland, and Poland are the main organizations responsible for organizing the small-scale events of Universities of the Future. In total, 33 events will be organized, designed to address a specific need of the Universities of the Future project, with well-defined objectives and goals.

The Train the Trainers event was held in Inca, at the beautiful Fábrica Ramis venue—a wonderful example of the city’s post-industrial heritage in Mallorca (Spain). On September 12, the project partners left the island with a strong sense of commitment and enthusiasm to explore the necessary skills, mindset, and tools that Platoniq had helped them develop over the course of two days of intense work. Platoniq is participating in this change—and challenge—in a collaborative and critical manner, believing that we are now on the same page and on the right track to advance the project and the existing activities planned for the coming months.