From Digital Transformation to Human-Centric Leadership: Higher Education's Role in Preparing V-Shaped Graduates for Industry 4.0/5.0

Abstract

The paper discusses the leadership skills of Industry 4.0 and 5.0 and how higher education institutions (HEIs) would help in enhancing these skills among engineering and management students. Nevertheless, existing research on the I4.0/I5.0 leadership development in HEIs is rather disjointed, with only a handful of studies centering on these population groups, so this review can be described as an exploration one. The PRISMA guidelines were used to conduct a systematic literature review (SLR), which analysed 61 peer-reviewed publications dating back to 2011. The review found three groups of invaluable competencies, including (a) technical (digital fluency, risk management), (b) human-centric (empathy, trustworthiness, ethical foresight), and (c) strategic (systems thinking, resilience). The current research points at the weakness of conventional theories of leadership and suggests a hybrid approach that combines technology, ethics, and sustainability. Unequal empirical focus within competency clusters is also evident in the synthesis and specifically in sustainability-oriented and student-specific leadership outcomes. The article is not oriented to determine the efficacy of the revealed leadership competencies or higher education practices but rather a synthesis of descriptive and conceptual information to provide insight on patterns, gaps, and the future of research in the still-new I4.0/I5.0 leadership conversation. The present paper builds on the upcoming V-shaped graduate construct that has been introduced in the new literature and compiles an idea of a conceptual framework of leadership preparedness, placing HEIs as knowledge management ecosystems facilitating sustainable leadership to transform digital-societal change. The conceptual propositions present a basis on which future empirical validation can be done in various HEI settings. The research provides practical recommendations to the HEIs and policymakers; it pertains to curriculum reorientation, hands-on learning, and collaboration between the industry and the academic field to equip the graduates to work within volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) environments.