The world today is rapidly shifting from the Industrial Age — where repetition, conformity, and uniformity were the objectives — to the Intelligence Age, where innovation, flexibility, and complex problem-solving are the new imperatives. This transition is revolutionizing all industries, particularly education, and marking the rise of a more mature paradigm - Education 5.0.

Education 5.0 is not merely incorporating digital tools or technological expertise; it is all about transforming learning into a more human, experiential, and values-based experience. It places equal emphasis on cognitive, emotional, and practical skills to prepare students to thrive in environments where AI, automation, and multidisciplinary collaboration are the new standards.

Those institutions adopting this creed are creating learning spaces that mimic the real world. Some universities can indeed be called leaders in this evolution. With an assortment of manufacturing labs that simulate various industry conditions — from robotics and mechatronics to materials — such institutions guarantee that students get opportunities to tackle the actual problems of the world. The labs are not an afterthought but an intrinsic part of the curriculum, allowing students to experiment, construct, and create as part of normal learning.

Additionally, the on-campus Action Learning Labs and Production Centers further this practice. With such programmes, students engage in live projects, operate machinery, and address industrial issues in real-time. This experiential model fosters critical thinking, teamwork, and confidence — all essential qualities of the Intelligence Age work environment.

The other distinguishing characteristic of progressive education models is the provision for lateral entry in different programs. Apart from providing flexibility, this opens access to quality education and makes it possible for students from different academic or professional backgrounds to re-skill or change over with ease into areas of interest as well as market needs.

Such innovations are wholly in keeping with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which envisions a multidisciplinary, skill-driven model of education based on flexibility and experiential learning. The NEP espouses early vocational training, industry ties, and shifting focus from rote learning to comprehension at the conceptual level — goals already being enthusiastically implemented at forward-thinking educational institutions.

As the Intelligence Age is already rewriting the rules of business, education also needs a transformation. That template is Education 5.0 — fusion of technology and empathy, skills and values, learning and doing. By leading this revolution, educational institutions will not just build effective professionals but conscious, agile minds the future demands.

(The author is Vice Chancellor, Centurion University, Odisha)