What top technologies should the next generation know how to use?


Lottie Waters at Devex: “Technology provides some great opportunities for global development, and a promising future. But for the next generation of professionals to succeed, it’s vital they stay up to date with the latest tech, innovations, and tools.

In a recent report produced by Devex in collaboration with the United States Agency for International Development and DAI, some 86 percent of survey respondents believe the technology, skills, and approaches development professionals will be using in 10 years’ time will be significantly different to today’s.

In fact, “technology for development” is regarded as the sector that will see the most development progress, but is also cited as the one that will see the biggest changes in skills required, according to the survey.

“As different technologies develop, new possibilities will open up that we may not even be aware of yet. These opportunities will bring new people into the development sector and require those in it to be more agile in adapting technologies to meet development challenges,” said one survey respondent.

While “blockchain,” “artificial intelligence,” and “drones” may be the current buzzwords surrounding tech in global development, geographical information systems, or GIS, and big data are actually the top technologies respondents believe the next generation of development professionals should learn how to utilize.

So, how are these technologies currently being used in development, how might this change in the near future, and what will their impact be in the next 10 years? Devex spoke with experts in the field who are already integrating these technologies into their work to find out….(More)”