Sydney’s University of Technology (UTS) is targeting international students with a campaign to study the underlying technologies of the Fifth Industrial Revolution. The university has launched a media campaign to attract students, including lifelong learners, to a number of courses across a range of disciplines and industry sectors related that the university has identified as cornerstones of Industry 5.0.

In particular, the university is targeting human skill-sets and cultural issues that will become key to Industry 5.0.

Industry 5.0 differs from its predecessor Industry 4.0 as having an emphasis on how humans will work together with collaborative robots and AI. It places a greater emphasis on AI, the integration of AI with IoT, the role of edge computing, and collaborative technologies.

While Industrie 4.0 was accompanied by Arbeit 4.0, the latter never became central, especially as the concept spread outside Germany and merged with the US Industrial Internet concept.

“The skills that we develop and champion – such as communication, cross-cultural literacy, and critical analysis – will become even more important as our workplace settings merge with the incredible power of AI and Big Data,” said Associate Professor Susie Khamis, a lecturer from the School of Communication. “Our students will work with the awesome potential of digital technologies and assume a command position in their positive deployment.”

The UTS campaign video highlights a variety of key initiatives led by university academics such as the partnership with Australian surf brand Piping Hot to develop sustainable fibres made from seaweed. It also features the university’s Climate Change Cluster (C3) initiative that aims to restore the Great Barrier Reef with in-house aquariums.

“By highlighting these key areas of research, we’re emphasising that Society 5.0 is no longer just a concept, it is already here. By joining a university that is responsive to these global shifts, UTS international students will graduate job-ready and equipped to drive positive change in Australia, their home country or the world,” said Iain Watt, Deputy Vice Chancellor, International at UTS.