Increasing Collaboration Between Humans and Technology Within Organizations: The Need for Ergonomics and Soft Skills in Engineering Education 5.0

Violeta Firescu ()
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Violeta Firescu: Faculty of Industrial Engineering, Robotics and Production Management, Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, 103-105 Muncii Avenue, 400641 Cluj-Napoca, Romania

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 5, 1-29

Abstract: Education for sustainability is one of the big challenges that higher education institutions (HEIs) face in the context of Society 5.0, which promotes human-centered design solutions. Therefore, solutions for collaboration between humans and technology in organizations are needed, as Industry 5.0 suggests. However, the concept of Engineering Education 5.0 promotes engineers who are able to solve global changes and are endowed with knowledge, skills, and a mindset for sustainability. This paper aims to highlight the transformative potential of international multidisciplinary consortia in HEIs, both for teaching and learning practices. Using a methodology that combines autoethnography and narrative analysis based on qualitative feedback received from participants, the paper presents lessons learned, good practices, and pilot co-teaching experiences within two Erasmus+ cooperation partnerships. This paper describes the educational process during joint learning sessions based on co-teaching and art-based training, showing educational practices for curricula development in engineering education. The findings show that cultivating teachers’ mindsets, skills, and pedagogical approaches can empower students to become active agents in fostering a more sustainable society and suggest that both ergonomics competencies and soft skills (e.g., self-awareness, creativity, collaboration) are crucial sustainability-oriented competencies, developed within international collaborative and enjoyable learning environments based on transformative learning experiences.

Keywords: sustainable higher education practices; university-company collaboration; learning experience; learning environment; co-teaching; ergonomics; human-centered design; soft skills; complexity; internalization (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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