We live in a time when discoveries in science and technology are happening rapidly, making it difficult to always stay informed. The full potential of these changes are continuously evolving, with digital technologies and connectivity transforming the world around us.

The media, entertainment and information industry have long played a role in informing, educating and entertaining consumers. Recently, new technologies and changes in consumption habits have influenced how the industry creates and transforms content into profit. However, the business community is concerned that the demand for innovators is greater than supply. According to one research in the US, the number of students entering college is significantly lower than the number of exits, leading to a loss of skilled workers.
The pace at which the trends are evolving requires including additional skills in the college programs in order to prepare students for the ambience they will enter upon graduation.

Industry leaders have identified 15 trends that will shape the future of Information Technology, with mobility, personalization, ‘Internet of things’ and security being the biggest trends in 2013. Some of the trends that will emerge in the coming years are visualization management, robotics and artificial intelligence (intelligence of machines and robots).

With the constant technology evolution in mind, one must also consider the increasing number of skills and programs that will be implemented in the study programs in the future. The biggest emphasis is however on mastering Big Data crunching. The amount of data has increased heavily during the last period, especially in the last two years when it has grown more than ever before. The ability to process huge amount of data, ‘make sense out of non-sense’ and uncover hidden patterns and correlations will be of increased importance in the future, making it essential for the students to get familiar with. Without the right framework of understanding, many of the potential insights that could be gained by using Big Data may go unrecognized.

Sara T. (402434)