LEONARDO pursued three interconnected objectives. First, to design, install, and "5.0-tize" two small-scale replicas of a brewing system — called LEAFs (Learning and Experimenting open-Access Factories) — at UNICAL (Italy) and FHOOE (Austria), equipping them with Industry 5.0 technologies such as IoT sensors, PLCs, digital twins, and human-machine interfaces to serve as hands-on learning environments and incubators for student ideas. Second, to shape the future of human-centric IEM education by defining the skill mix required to work in Industry 5.0 factories, developing open educational resources, and creating a toolkit of LEAF-as-a-Service tools enabling students to experiment with the LEAFs both on-site and remotely — validated through a structured pedagogical approach. Third, to nurture a European community of educators committed to modernising IEM education. This meant producing a gap analysis of current IEM curricula, defining a skill profile for Industry 5.0 trainers, developing a classroom resource kit, training and upskilling resources, and a Teacher's Handbook with best practices for human-centric IEM instruction. Underpinning all objectives was the ambition to align European HEI education with Industry 5.0 policy.
The transition towards Industry 5.0 — centred on human-centric, sustainable, and resilient production systems — has created an urgent skills mismatch in Higher Education. Talent gaps are widening as technological change outpaces curricula, and Industrial Engineering and Management (IEM) programs, while strong in theory, lack the hands-on laboratories needed to train students in Industry 5.0 concepts through learning-by-doing. LEONARDO was conceived to address this gap directly. Participating HEIs (UNICAL, FHOOE) had solid IEM programs but no dedicated facilities for experiential Industry 5.0 education. Students needed practice environments to build job-ready competences; professors needed pedagogical tools, curricula guidelines, and best practices for teaching human-centric IEM. At the same time, companies require graduates capable of designing and managing human-centric production systems — a profile that existing education systems do not yet fully deliver. The project also responded to broader policy imperatives, including the EU Digital Education Action Plan and the EIT Manufacturing vision of open-access teaching factories.