What are the Tech Trends 2021?

Technology, software and code will be part of our lives in more ways in the future, rapid developments and innovations in public and private areas will change our everyday life. We experience upheavals in ever faster succession, and we will have to get used to new, often useful standards at ever shorter periods. At the same time, we are facing fundamental challenges in our personal, professional lifes and in our society and economy. As a driving force of progress, the tech industry is in the midst of these changes. And is in our hands to help shape our future.

Let’s take a brief look at some of the developments that will be important in the coming year — and that will be shaped by technology in the long term.

 

Coding for the environment

The state of our environment and climate change certainly represents the most urgent task. It is crucial to provide society with technological solutions on its way to climate neutrality. Climathons are gaining importance and create solutions for ways to reduce waste and lower energy consumption. But also Code itself must become more resource efficient if we are to take the fight for our planet seriously.

 

Code against Covid and for health

The issue of health has come into focus this year, accelerating the debate around the use of technology. It’s not just in the fight against Covid-19 that AI is helping to assess research findings and make patterns visible. Apps are providing increasingly reliable information about our health status — and, in the best cases, they save lives.

 

Diversity and ethics in code

There can be no future worth living without equality. This is true at all levels, whether in access to knowledge, opportunities to shape policy, or unrestricted communication. And technology itself must also free itself from discriminatory parameters. Facial recognition software, for example, that only works with light skin, has no place in such a world. This requires an awareness of different life realities — the result will be better applications that really do create benefits for all users.

 

AI becomes an artist

Powerful AI will penetrate more and more areas of life. Self-driving vehicles that manage traffic in an energy-efficient way and automated, intelligent production processes are just two examples. Thanks to machine learning, artists now have new tools to work with as well. Mario Klingemann, for example, creates real-time portraits of passersby with the help of neural networks. When algorithms create entire works of art themselves, the implications for data, security, work and culture are wide-reaching — and they should be part of any public discourse.

 

We are setting the course

In order to not only develop these technologies, but also embed them in the context of society as a whole, education itself needs to be part of the digital transformation. Basic digital knowledge should be a cornerstone in all curricula; technologies such as VR and AR allow individualized learning opportunities and targeted support.

The responsibility that arises from for those of us who lay the groundwork for any transformation with our skills and our work, cannot be emphasized enough. We create the tools that enable and drive technological advancement. We create the tools that monitor and moderate these processes. In this way, we influence every aspect of modern life.

Students at 42 Heilbronn — as at all 42 schools — are exposed to and familiarized with a wide range of applications at an early stage. This way, they understand that the requirements for good code are multifaceted and often contradictory. They train their own ability to take into account different perspectives and write programs that solve real problems.

Our peer-learning approach, where students acquire information and knowledge without instructors but instead help each other, encourages creativity and critical thinking. Working in highly diverse teams and a constructive feedback culture prevent silo thinking.

We also encourage our students to follow their own interests even during the program. Many participate in Hackathons to work with others on real-life solutions. In addition, insights into different work realities provide early orientation and perspectives for their own career planning.

This gives students the tools to help shape our future in a variety of ways, to ask the right questions — and to be part of the solution.