APRIL 21-24, 2026 / AALBORG, DENMARK

i5 Forum 2026

The Visionary Summit

BUY TICKETS HERE
Hours Minutes Seconds

The Overarching Theme

CO-EVOLUTION

Orchestrating Ecosystems for a Sustainable, Resilient, Human Era

bt_bb_section_bottom_section_coverage_image
Originating from the European Commission’s vision, Industry 5.0 accelerates net-positive industry — measurable environmental gains powered by human-led innovation.
The Visionary Summit is the flagship instalment in a global series of World Industry 5.0 Forum, hosted as a living-lab convening, integrating human creativity, ethical technology and circular practice to forge resilient, inclusive economies.
https://i5forum.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Aalborg-tn.png
https://i5forum.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/SDGAA.png


Supported by Aalborg Municipality, Aligned with Global Sustainability SyncFrame
and Showcased in United Nation’s SDG Acceleration Action.

Learn
The i5 Summit provides certified learning sessions where you can gain access to the latest tech & solutions.
Experience
Immerse yourself in live living-labs, demo corridors, and the i5 Gala that bring innovation to life.
Network
Connect with policymakers, researchers, corporates and innovators to co-create practical ecosystem partnerships.
Finance
Pitch, structure and close transition deals — from green bonds to tokenized RWAs and pilot funding.

HIGHLIGHTS

https://i5forum.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/3.jpg
https://i5forum.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/5.jpg
https://i5forum.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/7.jpg
https://i5forum.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/AalborgCharter.jpg
https://i5forum.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/9.jpg
https://i5forum.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/15.jpg
https://i5forum.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/13.jpg
https://i5forum.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/14.jpg
https://i5forum.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/16.jpg
https://i5forum.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/17.jpg

Join our pilot sessions — be part of the first wave of Industry 5.0 experiments that turn ideas into measurable, market-ready impact.

https://i5forum.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/WORLD-4.jpg

The i5 AWARDS

Recognising human-centred innovation that scales.
https://i5forum.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/WORLD-5.jpg

The i5 GALA

An evening that connects art, science and impact.
https://i5forum.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/WORLD-6.jpg

The i5 Center

Training, pilots, and market readiness - cultivating i5 R&D..
bt_bb_section_bottom_section_coverage_image

Call for Abstracts

The Industry 5.0 Nordic Summit is a working summit: we don’t just debate problems — we co-design solutions, pilots and market-ready pathways that put people and planet at the centre of industry. This Call invites rigorous, actionable contributions that help solve urgent technology, finance, and social challenges.
Selected contributions will feed directly into summit living labs, training tracks, policy briefs, and our proposed UN HLPF side-event content.

We want submissions that are:

• Actionable — pilots, demos, case studies, and roadmaps with clear next steps;
• Evidence-based — grounded in data, evaluation, or reproducible methods;
• Interdisciplinary — bridging technology, business, policy and social science;
• Aligned to Industry 5.0 values — human-centricity, sustainability, resilience, inclusivity; and
• Scalable or replicable — designed for real organisations (SMEs to cities).

Summit Tracks & Example Topics

🧠 Human-Centric Work & Skills
• Algorithmic Bias in Hiring – recruitment AI screening out diverse candidates.

• Digital Fatigue & Neurostress – constant connectivity eroding cognitive health and workplace safety.

• Skill Obsolescence – reskilling not keeping pace with automation and green transitions.

• Invisible Labor in AI Supply Chains – human data labelers underpaid and unrecognized.

• Workplace Surveillance – excessive productivity tracking and privacy erosion.
🌱 Sustainable Operations & Nature Credits
• Greenwashing Epidemic – unverifiable ESG claims undermining public trust.

• Carbon Offsetting Loopholes – fake or double-counted offsets diluting impact.

• Biodiversity Blind Spots – ecosystems undervalued or excluded from climate accounting.

• Linear Supply Chains – waste and resource loss due to lack of circularity standards.

• Invisible Environmental Costs – energy and data waste from AI infrastructure.
🤖 Digital-Physical Convergence
• Deepfakes & Synthetic Disinformation – AI-generated content destabilizing trust and politics.

• Cyber-Physical Security Gaps – robotics, IoT, and energy systems exposed to hybrid attacks.

• AI Energy Consumption – unsustainable data-center footprints.

• Edge AI Fragmentation – lack of shared standards for interoperable, low-latency intelligence.

• Digital Twin Inequality – large industries benefit, SMEs left behind.
🔗 Interoperability & Standards
• Data Lock-In – corporations monopolizing access to industrial and ESG data.

• Non-Compatible Frameworks – ESG, SDG, and reporting standards that don’t interlink.

• Lack of Trust Frameworks – cross-border data exchange without accountability.

• Opaque Algorithms – AI models that can’t be audited or benchmarked.

• Missing Global Standards for Impact Verification – inconsistent measurement methods.
💰 Financing the Transition
• Short-Term ESG Investing – funds prioritizing optics over transformation.

• Fragmented Carbon Markets – lack of unified tokenization or interoperability.

• Underfinancing of SMEs – small players locked out of sustainable finance tools.

• Lack of Real-World Asset (RWA) Integration – sustainable infrastructure remains illiquid.

• Misaligned Incentives – sustainability departments separated from finance teams.
🍽️ Food, Agriculture & Bioeconomy
• Farm-to-fork digital traceability & consumer trust (QR + SyncFrame proofs).

• Verified food carbon footprints and on-plate impact labels.

• Food loss/waste minimisation through digital forecasting and supply matching.

• Tokenized biodiversity & nutrient-value credits for regenerative farms.

• Precision agriculture using edge AI that reduces inputs and improves nutrition.

• Localized bioeconomy value chains: from waste streams to high-value biomaterials.
❤️ Health & Well-Being
• Nutritional interventions in corporate catering that improve cognitive performance.

• Designing neurodiverse-friendly manufacturing lines and co-robot collaboration.

• Digital health dashboards that protect privacy while improving workforce wellbeing.

• Workplace mental health interventions tied to productivity and retention metrics.

• Use of wearables & edge AI for early detection of workplace hazards (with ethical safeguards).

• Community health & bioeconomy linkages (food access, public health outcomes).
Guidelines and Submission

SPEAKERS

(coming soon)
We’re finalising the Industry 5.0 Nordic Summit speaker line-up — check back soon for the full programme.
In the meantime, you can review speakers and thought-leaders who have taken part in the organiser’s previously held events.

Want to recommend a speaker or panelist? Email the programme team at speakers@i5forum.org with your suggestion and a short note on relevance.

Organizer's Previous Speakers:

Ronald Hall

Chief Advisor to the Deputy Director General, DG REGIO, European Commission.
Ex-director in the Directorate General for regional policy, and ex-head of division in the Directorate General for Agriculture, European Commission. Member (Academician) of the British Academy of Social Sciences. Member (Chevalier) of the Ordre National de la Légion d'Honneur, France. Visiting EU fellow to the University of Miami.

Dirk Fransaer

Member, Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium
Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Tivecoma, Visiting Fellow, Itinera Institute vzw, Grand Officer in the Order of the Crown, Royal Society of the Order of the Crown and the Order of Leopold II, Honorary Professor, Ningbo University, ex-Member, STEM Platform, ex-Director General ad interim, Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST), ex-Chair of the Audit Committee, Universiteit Antwerpen, ex-Managing Director, VITO (Vlaamse Instelling voor Technologisch Onderzoek)

Piet Andre M.Herdewyn

Director, Laboratory of Medicinal Chemistry at the Rega Institute – Rega Institute for Medical Research (KU Leuven)
Member, Royal Academy of Medicine, Belgium
Full Professor, KU Leuven – Laboratory of Medicinal Chemistry

Guo Huadong

Academician (Member), Chinese Academy of Sciences
Fellow, The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS), Researcher, Chinese Academy of Sciences Center for Earth Observation & Digital Earth Science, Fellow, Finnish Academy of Science and Letters (foreign member) Professor, Chinese Academy of Sciences Institute of Aerospace Information Research, ex-Director, Chinese Academy of Sciences Institute of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth, ex-Secretary-General, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Thomas J. Sargent

Nobel Laureate in Economic Sciences
Senior fellow and a leader in the field of macroeconomics at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University. He is the William R. Berkley Professor of Economics and Business at New York University and the Donald L. Lucas Professor in Economics, Emeritus, at Stanford University.

Klaus F. Zimmerman

President of the Global Labor Organization;
Member, Leopoldina German Academy of Sciences, Regional Science Academy, and Academia Europaea, the European Academy of Sciences; Co-director of Centre for Population, Development and Labour Economics at United Nations University – Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (UNU-MERIT); Emeritus professor of economics at Bonn University; Editor-in-chief of the Journal of Population Economics; Research fellow of the Centre for Economic Policy Research, Fellow of the European Economic Association and of the International Economic Association; Founding director, Institute for the Study of Labor.

Asunción Gómez-Pérez

Fellow of the European Academy of Science, Fellow of the Royal Academy of Spain, Fellow of the Engineering Royal Academy. Vice-Rector for Research, Innovation and Doctoral Studies in Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM), Member of the Council on Science and Technology in Madrid region and part of the National Advisory Council on AI.

Shi Dinghuan

Member of the State Council, People’s Republic of China
Chair, China Renewable Energy Society, Chair, China Productivity Promotion Center Association; Chair, China Science & Technology Consulting Association; Executive Vice-Chair, China Industry-University-Research Cooperation Promotion Association.

And many more...

Organizer's Research Partners

(partially proposed to EU HORIZON)
https://i5forum.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/university-cambridge-logo-white-example-640x133-1.png
https://i5forum.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/ntu.webp
https://i5forum.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/WORLD-4.png
https://i5forum.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/WORLD-5.png
https://i5forum.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/WORLD-6.png
inner_logo_white_05
inner_logo_white_04
inner_logo_white_03
inner_logo_white_02
inner_logo_white_01
bt_bb_section_bottom_section_coverage_image
https://i5forum.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/floating_image_04_04.png
https://i5forum.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/floating_image_04_05.png

SCHEDULE

DAY 1 – Vision & Alignment

8:00 AM – 9:00 AM

Arrival, Registration & Stadium Awakening

09:00–09:30

Welcome from City of Aalborg – The Announcement of Renewed Aalborg Charter

09:30–10:15

Keynote 1 – From 4.0 to 5.0: Human + AI + Planet as co‑workers

10:15–10:45

Coffee & On‑Pitch Micro‑Demos

10:45–12:15

Provocation Plenary + moderated debate

12:15–13:30

Networking Lunch

13:30–15:00

Breakouts Round 1

  • Human‑Centric Design & Augmented Work
  • Data Spaces & Interoperability — GSSF‑ready patterns & playbooks (DataSpace Lab)
  • Nature Credits & Circular Value Chains — procurement that regenerates (Concourse Micro‑Factory)
  • Safety, Ethics & The AI Rulebook — practical compliance clinic (TwinWorks Lab)

15:00–15:15

Break

15:15–16:45

Stadium‑as‑a‑Living‑Lab Tours + Twin Hack Sprint

  • Energy/BMS back‑of‑house tour • Waste & water routing • Live sensor pop‑ups
  • 60‑min sprint: build a mini digital twin of one stadium subsystem

16:45–17:30

Reverse Pitches (corporates/municipalities state needs; startups respond)

17:30–18:00

Day 1 Harvest: 5 tangible challenges + owner + next step

18:30–20:30

The i5 Gala

[bold_timeline_item_button title=”Expand” style=”” shape=”” color=”” size=”inline” url=”#” el_class=”bold_timeline_group_button”]

DAY 2 – BUILD, SCALE, & Deal

08:30–09:15

Morning labs open: demo pods, SyncFrame Ops Wall, ticketed hands-on sessions for donors/sponsors

09:15–10:45

Market Activation Plenary: Financing the Transition — green bonds, tokenization, RWA models

11:00–12:30

Energy Tokenization Sandbox (Featured Session)

co-modeled demo: verified flexibility proofs → market instrument prototype. Live modelling + investor reaction panel. (Demo space + data displays)

12:30–13:45

Lunch (live impact labels + nutrition briefings)

Integer gravida accumsan aliquam. Aliquam molestie commodo mauris sed luctus. Nunc rhoncus, nunc in varius maximus, ex dolor volutpat ante, et scelerisque erat purus in augue. Vivamus a ultrices neque. 

13:45–15:15

Track Labs (choose one):

  • Human-Centric Work Lab: Cobots, ergonomics & neurodiversity simulations (NTU lead)

  • Circular Ops Lab: Product-as-a-Service business models & circular procurement

  • Digital/Physical Sandbox: Edge AI & digital twin rapid builds (KTH/RISE)

  • Standards & Trust Clinic: GSSF alignment & data spaces (SUSTIN + partners)

15:30–17:00

Investor Deal Lounges / Pitch Round

— pre-selected SMEs + pilot teams pitch to matched investors & buyers (tokenization, food systems, energy demos)

17:15–18:00

Outcomes & Commitments: deal-room readouts; MOUs & pilot signings (live Ops Wall)

19:30–22:30

i5 Gala & i5 Awards Evening (optional Plan A: stadium center concert if funded; Plan B: gala at VMK with Nordic artists & small bands)

  • i5 Awards ceremony (recognising scalable human-centric innovations)

  • Cultural program: performances, fashion-tech runway, data-visual art interludes

  • Sponsor & mayoral toasts; Gala is carbon-neutral showcase

[bold_timeline_item_button title=”Expand” style=”” shape=”” color=”” size=”inline” url=”#” el_class=”bold_timeline_group_button”]

DAY 3 – Training, Certification, Commitments

08:30–09:00

Registration / coffee / showcase pods

09:00–12:30

Parallel Certification Tracks (half-day or full-day options):

  • Holacracy in Action — certified Industry 5.0 Holacracy Facilitator (role-play circles, governance templates)

  • Green Finance Bootcamp — tokenization, structuring RWAs, investor-ready transition plans (Cambridge + SUSTIN) — Transition Finance Practitioner badge

  • Sustainable Food & Wellbeing Lab — plant-forward menu design, nutrition KPIs, catering operations certification — Carbon-Neutral Catering Champion

  • Digital Twin & Edge AI Sandbox — build a mini digital twin and simulate Scope 1–3 impacts — micro-certification

12:30–13:30

Certification lunch (nutrition + wellbeing focus)

13:30–15:00

Practitioner Workshops: SME transition plans, procurement transformation, nature-credit project design

15:15–16:45

Carbon-Neutral Action Challenge (summit-wide gamified session): teams reduce footprint & unlock nature credits; live scoreboard on Ops Wall.

17:00–18:00

Certification award ceremony & closing plenary for core delegates — public commitments read aloud (Aalborg Declaration sign-up)

18:30

i5 Gala 2: Optional partner dinners, investor roundtables, local community reception

[bold_timeline_item_button title=”Expand” style=”” shape=”” color=”” size=”inline” url=”#” el_class=”bold_timeline_group_button”]

DAY 4 – Sustainability Tour & Engagement

08:30

Departure hubs from VMK (pre-booked coach groups) Tour options (choose one):

  • Clean Energy & Grid Tour: local energy community / smart-grid demo / district heating visit (municipal partners)
  • Circular Manufacturing & Materials Tour: local circular facility / recycling-to-manufacturing demo
  • Food & Bioeconomy Trail: regenerative farm or urban agri hub + food hub pilot (nutrition demo)
  • Smart City Lab: municipal mobility & digital twin demos, built-environment innovations

12:30–14:00

Field lunch & local supplier showcase (plant-forward local cuisines)

14:30–16:00

Post-Tour Roundtable: Implementation pathways & follow-up (how Summit outputs feed into Horizon/CET/CENT proposals, partner MOUs)

16:00

Farewell & next steps — volunteer & advisory board sign-ups, details on Industry 5.0 Center planning and pilot continuation.

[bold_timeline_item_button title=”Expand” style=”” shape=”” color=”” size=”inline” url=”#” el_class=”bold_timeline_group_button”]

From lab to launch — research, demo, finance.

https://i5forum.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/image_team_03.png
https://i5forum.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/floating_image_04_01.png
https://i5forum.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/floating_image_04_02.png
https://i5forum.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/floating_image_04_03.png

Quick-Start Guides for Attendees

Role-based toolkits to help you prepare, participate, and convert meetings into pilots and funding.
https://i5forum.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/abstract_box_01.png
RESEARCHERS

Publish, prototype, and partner with industry and cities — influence Europe’s Industry 5.0 agenda.

https://i5forum.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/abstract_box_02.png
INVESTORS

Finance what truly moves the needle on climate and jobs, and meet deal-ready pilots and transition finance.

https://i5forum.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/abstract_box_03.png
ENTREPRENEURS

Pilot, pitch and partner — get certified, get funded, get to market faster.

https://i5forum.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/WORLD-10.png
POLICYMAKERS

Shape policy that powers people-first industry, join mayors and ministers creating the “i5” playbook.

bt_bb_section_top_section_coverage_image
bt_bb_section_bottom_section_coverage_image

PRICING

Student & SME Pass
€
012345678900123456789001234567890
Single person
BUY HERE
  • For students, early-stage startups and small local SMEs (proof required).
  • Includes: 3-day Summit access (Days 1–3), demo corridor & poster zone, basic networking, access to recordings.
  • Excludes: Gala (available as paid add-on), premium Deal Lounge, paid certification workshops.
  • Purpose: widen access, build talent pipelines, stimulate local participation.
Professional Pass
€
012345678900123456789001234567890
standard ticket
BUY HERE
  • For practitioners, consultants, city officers, academics and industry delegates.
  • Includes: 3-day Summit access (Days 1–3), demo corridor, Deal Lounge open sessions, 2 workshop slots (choose from non-certified workshops), lunches, summit materials, recordings.
  • Optional add-on: Gala ticket + DKK 1,000.
  • Purpose: main revenue driver — good value for full Summit experience.
All-Access / VIP Pass
€
01234567890                     ,012345678900123456789001234567890
limited
BUY HERE
  • For senior execs, investors and partners seeking full access and matchmaking. Limit to ~30–50 passes.
  • Includes: everything in Professional + guaranteed seat at Gala, invitation to VIP networking dinner, priority Deal Lounge matchmaking (pre-booked meetings), access to VIP greenroom, certificate workshop access (choice of one full certification), delegate gift pack, and post-event attendee list (GDPR-compliant).
  • Purpose: premium experience and high-value sponsor / investor engagement.
bt_bb_section_bottom_section_coverage_image

REGISTRATION

    Spaces are limited. Early-bird tickets available until 31 Jan 2026 — secure your spot and join the co-evolution of industry and society.
    About Venue

    The Industry 5.0 Nordic Summit takes place at VMK, the flexible conference facility on the side of Aalborg Stadium. The venue offers long, configurable event spaces ideal for working labs, demo corridors and intimate plenaries. Expect easy on-site access to living-lab exhibits, the SyncFrame Ops Wall and clustered workshop rooms designed to encourage cross-traffic and hands-on collaboration.

    Practical highlights

    • Flexible, modular rooms and multiple micro-stages for parallel workshops and living labs.

    • Dedicated demo corridor for hands-on exhibits and live data displays.

    • Low-rise staging and accessible circulation tailored to interactive formats, Holacracy circles and small-group collaboration.

    • Visible sustainability measures onsite: plant-forward catering options, waste sorting, and carbon-neutral operations where possible.

    How to Get Here

    Aalborg is well connected by air, rail and road — and is actively promoting low-carbon arrival options.

    • By air: Aalborg Airport (AAL) serves domestic and international flights. From the airport you can take taxis, app-based rides or local buses to the city and VMK.

    • By train: Regular national and regional trains connect Aalborg to major Danish cities. From Aalborg Station a short taxi or local bus ride will take you to the stadium area. Use Denmark’s travel planner apps (Rejseplanen) for real-time connections.

    • By car: VMK and the stadium area are accessible by road. Limited on-site parking is available; where possible please car-pool or use EVs — several nearby parking areas include electric charging points.

    • Sustainable options: We encourage low-carbon travel where feasible — public transport, e-bikes, or shared shuttles. If you’d like help arranging shared airport transfers or group shuttle services, email travel@i5forum.org.

    • Local transport & maps: Detailed directions, maps and a downloadable transport guide are available at i5forum.org/getting-here.

    Accommodation

    Aalborg offers a range of hotels, guesthouses and serviced apartments close to the stadium and city centre — from budget-friendly options to comfortable business hotels. We recommend you book early to secure the best rates.

    • Partner & recommended hotels: A list of recommended hotels and partner booking links is available at i5forum.org/accommodation (special rates may be offered through the Summit partner block — check the page for code and booking instructions).

    • Budget guide: Expect options across price ranges — economical (student & budget hotels), mid-range (business & boutique) and premium (higher-end properties with conference services).

    • Sustainability tip: Look for hotels with green certifications or sustainable practices (energy efficiency, waste reduction). Many partner hotels provide EV chargers, bike rental and compostable/plant-forward breakfast options.

    • Requests & accessibility: If you need accessibility features, dietary requirements, or group reservations, contact accommodation@i5forum.org and our team will assist with bookings and special arrangements.

    • Local stays & home-sharing: For an authentic Aalborg experience, check serviced apartments and local B&Bs — good options for longer stays or teams.

    https://i5forum.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/QR.png
    Instant Registration with QR Code Scan

    Register for your next event with instant QR code scan and experience the benefits for yourself!

    bt_bb_section_bottom_section_coverage_image

    Chat To Enterprise Support

    Speak to our friendly team
    support@i5forum.org

    Support Chat

    We are here to help
    support@i5forum.org

    Visit The i5 Center

    Harald Jensens Vej 9,
    9000 Aalborg, Denmark

    Call Us

    Mon-Fri:9am to 5pm
    EU Support: +32 48 0206 068
    UK Support: +44 33 0027 3383

    bt_bb_section_bottom_section_coverage_image