Re-imagining Computing at the Australian National University

The Australian National University (ANU) has invited applications for a senior job "re-imagining" engineering and computing over six to twelve months:

"...  embark on an ambitious re-imagination of engineering and computing that will result in expansion of Engineering & Computer Science at the ANU.

Reporting to the Dean, successful applicant will have responsibility for the oversight and academic leadership as part of a team that will develop a blueprint and business plan for the College for the next 10 year period while also providing support to the Dean with leadership and management of the College, and will be a member of the College Executive. ..."

Dean Elanor Huntington talked on "Why We Need Engineers Now More Than Ever" at TEDxSydney. 

Ten New Computing and Engineering Research Jobs at ANU

The Australian National University has ten new positions for level B or C researchers in the fields of computer science and engineering. Called CS Futures fellowships and the Future Engineering Research Leadership (FERL), each position is for up to five years.

"The [Computer Science] School is going through a period of rapid growth and expansion. Our staff and students are engaging with industry and government partners to solve the toughest problems and to shape the next generation technology innovations in the areas of Algorithms and Data, Artificial Intelligence, Computer Systems, Information and Human Centred Computing, Logic and Computation, Cybersecurity and Software Intensive Systems Engineering."

"Future Engineering Research Leadership Fellows (FERL) program. You will have the opportunity to engage in ground-breaking, cutting-edge research in the fields of signal processing, computer vision and robotics, computational mechanics, materials, fabrication, renewable energy, networked systems and quantum cybernetics. "

The Department

"The Department" (1975) is a play by David Williamson about the staff politics in an Australian university engineering department. The staff at the university struggle with inter and intra-departmental rivalries, increasing external scrutiny, student expectations, employer expectations and how to include the requirements for general professional skills (such as literacy) versus technical competences in a crowded curriculum. I was reminded of this play recently when attending a real engineering department meeting. In 40 years since the play was written not much has changed. There is perhaps less student activism on campus, but there are the revolutionary pressures brought about by the Internet. Thanks to the ACT Library for a copy of the play.

Technical Education is as Important As Business Skills

"75% of people lacking a technical education will believe made up quotes containing  spurious statistics" - Tom Worthington ;-)

More seriously, the ability to communicate, negotiate and lead is important, but it is also necessary to have at least basic technical knowledge. Being able to lead will be of no use if people can fool you with such obvious nonsense as the often cited, supposed quote:

"85% of your financial success is due to your personality and ability to communicate, negotiate and lead. Shockingly, only 15% is due to technical knowledge." - Carnegie Institute of Technology

Variations of this appear in tens of thousands of publications. Jeff Lopez-Stuit traced it to a Forbes article by Keld Jensen  (2012):

"Research carried out by the Carnegie Institute of Technology shows that 85 percent of your financial success is due to skills in “human engineering,” your personality and ability to communicate, negotiate, and lead. Shockingly, only 15 percent is due to technical knowledge. "

Brian Austin traced this back to a 1918 work by the Carnegie Foundation. I was able to find the actual article (Mann, 1918), which does not support the proposition that technical knowledge is relatively unimportant. It is actually about how to improve technical education, which ensured the USA's economic success in the 20th century.

I suggest we need people who are trained in both technical and business skills. In particular there is great value in giving technical people some training in how to communicate and some understanding of business. One way to do this is with "innovation" programs, where the technical and business students are required to work together.

Reference

Mann, C. R. (1918). A study of engineering education. Bulletin, 11. Retrieved from: http://web.mit.edu/~jwk/www/docs/Mann%201918%20Study_of_Engineering_Educ.pdf