Globalization, understood as a process of increasing integration on a worldwide scale, constitutes one of the most significant phenomena of recent decades, as well as the most capable of transforming the world around us. This integration process has made national borders disappear more and more, on all levels: economic, social, politician, cultural, in the field of information and knowledge, environmental…

The impact of globalization has spread even further with the so-called fourth industrial revolution. Technological innovation and its effects will determine our near future on a global level. The skills and education necessary for us to be able to respond in an innovative and sustainable way to the challenges presented by this global world are also transforming.

At the beginning of the 19th century, during the industrial revolution, the increased use of spinning and weaving machines reduced the number of jobs available to workers, which generated a resistance movement (Luddism).  However, the industrialization process allowed for the creation of new jobs, which were covered by vocational training and worker specialization.

In much the same way, this fourth industrial revolution through which we are currently living, characterized by robotics, artificial intelligence, and the Internet of things, once again threatens contemporary employment. And, once again, this industrialization process opens the doors for the creation of new businesses, jobs, and professions. The nature of work, across all disciplines, is already transforming. Organizations have begun to demand other professional profiles, with more cross-disciplinary experience and an ability to adapt to the vertiginous changes in the sector.

As Peter Drucker said: “Knowledge is the only significant resource today.” In this edition of the Quorum, we open the debate on the struggles and challenges that globalization and the so-called fourth industrial revolution represent for the different professional sectors and academic disciplines.