Telecommunications Education: The Challenges and Opportunities of a Changing Discipline

The field of telecommunications is at a historic crossroads in its evolution and development. The combination of a rapidly changing global economy coupled with advancements in new media and telecommunications technology are having a profound effect on higher education and those academic disciplines that specialize in media management, telecommunications, and management of information systems. This article is about change and what we as educators are doing to prepare our students for the future world of work. Special attention is given to the challenges and opportunities that face the telecommunications discipline itself. Tomorrow's telecommunications professionals will have to be trained using a far more innovative approach to curriculum design than was the case in past years. The long-term success of any academic program will ultimately depend on the proper blending of its core strengths with a view toward the future in terms of innovative curriculum design.