What knowledge will the media engineer of the future need to master to meet the needs of his or her employer or clients? As new technologies continue to be developed and content delivery methods evolve, media engineers will need to keep pace to build and maintain the necessary systems these technologies require in the future. But just what technology will the media industry be using in 2021 or 2026?
The SBE will seek to acquire the necessary data to answer that question by hosting an Education Summit later this year. The summit will bring together a half-dozen media industry technology thought leaders for one day to discuss the technology in use today and the technology that they predict will be in use over the next five to ten years. The SBE will use the information gathered from the summit to develop a forward-looking document that outlines the competencies of future technical media professionals. From that, the SBE will develop educational content that prepares them to meet the industry’s needs.
Costs for the SBE Education Summit are being underwritten by the Ennes Educational Foundation Trust. Formed in 1980, the mission of the Ennes Trust is to provide and support educational opportunities for broadcast engineers through scholarships and educational programs, and provide support for education-related projects of the SBE. The Ennes Trust is supported through donations from members and chapters of the SBE and companies within the broadcast industry.
An SBE Education Summit planning group that includes SBE President Jerry Massey, Education Committee Chairman Wayne Pecena and Executive Director John Poray, are developing the details for the summit. They have identified five desired outcomes for the event that were approved by the SBE Board of Directors:
• What will the industry look like in 2019, 2021, 2026?
• What skills and knowledge will be needed for new technology?
• What skills and knowledge will be needed for legacy technology?
• Identify the cross-training needed for RF, IT and other personnel
• The unpredictable or unknown outcome generated from the group’s discussion
The planning group is inviting participants that represent a cross-section of today’s media technology community, bringing together some of our industry’s leading technology thought leaders. They are also determining the date and location of the summit.
Watch for updates about the SBE Education Summit in future issues of The Signal.
