Final Reflections!

The beauty of this course TWC is that it gives insight in to technology and innovation and its significance in broad range of areas. It shows how an individual is not a subscriber of technology only if he/she carries smart phone, ipod, or have access to computers and internet. In one of the sessions we discussed the revolution of ICT and in the next session we had a discussion on BioBusiness. I loved how in session on emerging technologies we had the freedom to bring any interesting technology of area we are interested in to class. This sort of freedom and flexibility allowed us to look at technologies that look at possibility of living on water for example and the possibility of tooth regeneration. Not only, have we covered broad range of areas where technology is applied or used but also the impacts both negative and positive of such changes. Again I hope with the interdisciplinary approach I have learnt to evaluate and analyse an innovation from different angles - social, political, legal, environment and economic. I can undoubtedly say that this has been a unique experience.

The course concluded with our group projects that involved us to work in teams and make a website on our area of interest. I and my group chose to make a website on car safety technology. I have always been interested in car’s technology and as a group we realised that few people know about the safety features of the cars that they drive. So we chose this topic. This was the first time I worked on a project which involved making of a website and while working on the website I learnt many things about making website. This also included many challenges. Often I found the website quite complex but I think I am quite satisfied with our product. Here’s the link to our website - http://www.wix.com/2011twc/cars. Feel free to surf the site and leave any comments or queries on contact us page.

The other groups also made websites on many interesting topics ranging from technology that aids the disable to revolution in arts because of technology, social media and ICT. Through the websites not only the groups delivered the relevant content but also added a personal touch and perspective to their websites. I enjoyed looking through each website because there were many areas such as technology and visual arts which I was interested in. I have always had special interest in visual arts but I do not remember thinking about the impact on technology on it. Hence, it was interesting to look at the website on technology and how it influenced arts.

Besides I really enjoyed exploring the website on information and communication technology. I liked how the group extended their scope from development of ICT from past to present to future’s further developments like possibility of transmitting information through light. They also their personal take on future communication technology by looking at possibility of communicating such that emotions of another individual can also be understood.

On the whole I believe it’s been a fun and an enriching course. My personal rating on this course would be 9.9 /10.  :)

Session 10

Week 10 was about technology assessment and forecasting. This session basically sums up the course TWC. Basically, in the past few weeks we looked at how technology has brought changed in our world in different areas such as communication, healthcare, education and even our food/nutrition. Along the way, both positive and negative impacts of technology were explored. The different approaches that individuals or companies may take towards innovation were also highlighted. After looking at the past, present and emerging technologies what holds most importance now is the future. What next? In order to answer this question, we need to carry out technology assessment and forecasting.

The different strategies of forecasting and assessment of technology is essential because that guides us while we make decisions about where to invest our time, money and resources. This can we explained through a quote by Benjamin Franklin.

  

“Look before, or you'll find yourself behind” - Benjamin Franklin

The quote is relevant to us and very true. If we do not think about our future, we will be left behind. We need to imagine and be creative to innovate and make our future. There is a need to stop and evaluate the emerging technologies and then make decisions accordingly.

Technology forecasting is important for everyone, every company and every government. Yet, it was realised that forecasting and technology assessment may not even make to priority list of many governments especially the less developing countries. Technology assessment can be most beneficial for poor countries because by assessing and forecasting the future trend, governments can make budgets more efficiently; however there are always problems like corruption which may still result in misallocation of resources.  I realised this when I was researching for my presentation of Health Technology Assessment (HTA) in Canada. Canada being a rich and developed nation is investing a lot in HTA. In my presentation I focused on the horizon scanning approach in HTA. Horizon scanning is about recognising new emerging technologies and evaluating them, to determine which technology is best eligible for further funding. Unlike making strategies after looking and observing our past, strategies should be made by having futuristic vision. Hence, planning may be more efficient when working backwards from future to present.

Another presentation was done on kids forecasting the future. The presentation reemphasised the need to be creative and imaginative. If we think like children then we can come up with more interesting innovations. The presentation made me curious about what happens to our imagination when we grow older. :D

Previously, I think I was quite very unsure about this area of forecasting and assessment but after the session I think I understand the importance and various ways of conducting technology assessment and forecasting. The session was a good introduction to the topic. My personal rating of this session is 9/10