Careers at the rapidly shifting human-technology frontier: Global engagement, local impact

The last decade has witnessed some rapid progress in science and technology, and the human-technology frontier has shifted considerably. In this talk, I argue that in the information technology community, and in the engineering community in general, career paths in this changed world should include not only technical fields but also administrative fields, entrepreneurship, science and technology education, and very importantly, policy and diplomacy at local, national and international levels. Adopting such a broad viewpoint would open up many interesting and highly satisfactory career paths, and may bring personal and professional fulfillment in unexpected ways. Technical education and training should provide a highly transferable skill-set that can be valuable in many other fields, including that of national and international science and technology policy.