My backgrounds are Information Technology and Integrated Circuit Design. As a professor of Kyoto University and Kyushu University, I joined several big projects with industries and government such as Silicon Sea Belt project.
　ICT (Information and Communication Technology) is a source of innovation of the present human society. The economical and social systems have been changed drastically by rapid growth of ICT and penetration to various social activities. Mobile phones and Internet are now the basic social information infrastructure covering whole world and have made the world flat. Waves of the change have caused rapid growth of newly developed countries, economical crisis in developed countries and political revolutions in underdeveloped countries. Another wave of “Big Data” will accelerate the changes, including the creation of new businesses and education technologies, and the innovations of social structure and our life styles.
　Since IEICE is a leading professional society on ICT, we are heavily responsible to show the big picture of the future directions of ICT and social systems constructed on it. Our view should cover not only technological issues, but also solutions to various social problems including policy of industry development, education and new social services.