Higher Education as a Promoter of Soft Skills in a Sustainable Society 5.0

Abstract

The growing digitalization that is taking place in most current societies, shaping a super-smart society – such as, for example, the aimed Society 5.0 – raises profound implications in the learning that the higher education context should foster, and which is summarized in the following question: what kind of skills should be taught and how? This perspective paper aims to analyze the centrality of soft skills in this new and unavoidable context, as well as the implications in the learning process. The results of a bibliographical search point toward the fact that, in addition to professional and scientific skills, soft skills are critical for professional and personal success, which implies a profound reformulation of the teaching processes in the overwhelming majority of higher education institutions and their actors. For this challenge to become a reality and for the success of these processes, elements such as digital literacy, sustainability and interculturality are paramount.