International Conference on Vocational Education Applied Science and Technology (ICVEAST), formerly known as International Conference on Vocation for Higher Education (ICVHE), is an annual event organized by the Vocational Programme, Universitas Indonesia that aims to encourage innovative applied research in vocational higher education. This year we rebranded the conference as we want to focus on being an international forum where scholars and practitioners share their ideas on vocational education, especially within the context of applied science and technology. The rebranding from ICVHE to ICVEAST marks our fifth conference, with the theme, “Attaining Sustainable Development Goals through Innovative Technological Research in Vocational Higher Education”.

The pandemic Covid-19, climate change, and the acceleration of disruption due to digitalization and automation have changed the nature of education and work. These shifts that have taken place over the past few years – and even decades – are pushing universities more than ever to adapt more quickly in preparing qualified human resources that meet current needs. The world of education must prepare its students to adapt to future economic activities as digital technology is changing the landscape of education and work patterns. In addition, both pandemic and digitalization have fundamentally changed various economic activity forms marked by the increasing adoption of technology within conventional economic activity patterns. All these conditions provide an excellent opportunity for vocational higher education where integration between universities, business and industry have been increasingly promoted. In this case, partnerships among involved actors are particularly vital to avoid a mismatch between work and workers that are often found across regions within countries and between countries; where there is demand for work, there may not be a supply of qualified workers to fulfill the gap. Thus, vocational higher education has played an essential role in accommodating the world of education and the world of work to create more entrepreneurs and increase the capacity of SMEs while improving the quality of the education system.

Integrating digitalization and sustainability into the vocational higher education context is also becoming more crucial to ensure workers develop the skills necessary to carry on sustainable practices. Integrating sustainability into educational and training programs is multidimensional. It takes on a wide range of approaches leading to a variety of perspectives within sustainable development context as immediate practical relevance. Information Communication and Technology brings challenges and opportunities to vocational higher education. At the same time, digital technologies have changed how an organization works, creating new jobs and replacing others. Consequently, reskilling becomes key in order to thrive in a high-tech working environment for workers. Sustainability governance in a digitalized environment must be addressed in the context of vocational higher education as a central concern. Therefore, we need a digital global participatory platform for using ICT that can help promote human well-being, increase sustainability, promote fairness, increase resilience, reduce damages, and improve opportunities for economic, political, and social participation.

The 5th ICVEAST 2022 intends to get insights into how vocational higher education can utilize digital technology to help achieve the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals and support global economy recovery. This also aligns with the central issue of G20, particularly the Education Working Group (EdWG) that focuses on the importance of preparing adaptive graduates. Researchers and policymakers in vocational higher education must identify the impact of the digital transformation on economic, social and environmental development and explore options for action to ensure that socio-technical transformation processes foster sustainable development and social justice. As an interdisciplinary approach, the 5th ICVEAST 2022 will approach these issues from a technical, economic, social, and environmental science perspective that actively involves stakeholders from the field, especially from the perspective of vocational higher education as a pillar to national development.