On 29 January 2026, PROSPECTS 5.0 joined five Horizon Europe sister projects –BRIDGES 5.0, SEISMEC, SkillAIbility, AIREDGIO, and UPSKILL – for the joint webinar “Industry 5.0 in Theory and Practice.” What began as a knowledge exchange quickly evolved into a deeper reflection on what Industry 5.0 truly means for organisations navigating rapid technological change.
Rather than presenting isolated perspectives, the discussion revealed a striking alignment across projects. Participants agreed that Industry 5.0 is not a simple continuation of Industry 4.0, but a response to growing social, organisational, and environmental that require a more human‑centred and resilient approach to industrial transformation.
From principle to practice
While human‑centricity is widely recognised as the core of Industry 5.0, speakers emphasised the gap between intention and implementation. Tools such as participatory design, ergonomics, and sociotechnical methods already exist, yet adoption remains uneven. Several project examples demonstrated how technologies introduced without worker involvement can unintentionally disrupt identity, trust, and collaboration.
Across cases, one insight consistently emerged: when organisations involve workers through co‑design, experimentation, and shared learning, the adoption improves. The speakers concluded that the human‑centricity is not embedded in technology itself, but in how work systems are designed.
Workforce realities and organisational change
The dialogue also highlighted structural challenges shaping Industry 5.0 adoption: demographic shifts, intergenerational differences, multicultural collaboration, and widening skills gaps that extend beyond digital literacy. Successful transformation depends not only on new technologies, but on organisational culture, communication, and participatory practices.
What companies actually need
Participants stressed that organisations, and particularly SMEs, require practical guidance rather than abstract frameworks. Companies seek usable tools, clear roadmaps, and proof‑of‑practice examples that support both technological and cultural transition.
This aligns closely with PROSPECTS 5.0’s mission: translating Industry 5.0 principles into operational instruments such as the Industry 5.0 Assessment Framework and collaborative validation workshops that help organisations understand their progress and next steps.
A shared path forward
A strong outcome of the roundtable discussion was the call for deeper collaboration between projects, including the idea of shared infrastructures to consolidate tools, lessons learned, and methodologies. Such cooperation could prevent fragmentation and ensure that Industry 5.0 knowledge continues evolving beyond individual project lifecycles.
By the end of the session, the participants came to the conclusion that Industry 5.0 is not a fixed endpoint, but an evolving direction shaped by real organisational needs, collective learning, and collaboration.
PROSPECTS 5.0 is proud to contribute to this dialogue and looks forward to continuing joint efforts that move Industry 5.0 from concept to practice.