QUTeX Real World Futures

Core concepts

About Future Thinking

Thought and creativity will become our most important assets as technology shapes a future with new ways of working, playing and connecting. The big shift will be the simplification and automation of mundane processes – whether on the factory floor, the construction site or the office. The employee of the future will be judged more on their thinking skills and creativity than technical ability. Understanding the potential power of the brain and how it can be refined, will enable leaders to attract the best people and achieve the best results. The enterprise of the future will be valued on quality ideas to conceive and execute what a connected consumer wants and needs.

About Future Working

Digital tools and machines will replace many process jobs over the next decade. They will create both efficiency and dislocation, requiring businesses and employees to think differently about their careers and the training and education that skills them. International research now being replicated in Australia shows close to half of all occupations are at risk from technological disruption. New technology will also unleash new creative forces and inspire new waves of entrepreneurialism, creating both challenges and opportunities while maintaining pressure on work-life balance. The winners will be the enterprises and individuals that can maximise their use of new technology while drawing on human strengths that can set them apart.

About Future Living

The connected society is already changing the way we work and relate to each other. The latest mobile devices put what we once would have called a supercomputer in every pocket or handbag. As these devices continue to evolve it will further change every aspect of how we consume and relate to each other. In tandem with other discoveries, innovation will offer greater insight into our physical and mental condition. We will live longer but this will be accompanied by further challenges as society adapts to an aging population. It doesn’t end there; the power of networks will expand, for instance, into how energy is created, stored and used. Many other businesses will need to disrupt or will struggle to stay alive. The deep social, economic and political consequences are already starting to be felt and will only increase with time.

Technology is changing how we think, work and live. QUTeX Real World Futures series keeps track of what this means. Learn more and rediscover our past Real World Futures events.