‘The new IT professional: nerds and poets with a holistic perspective’ – Interview with Hans Borgman
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60 percent of IT professionals say they can no longer keep up with new developments. How do we prepare tomorrow’s IT professionals for this rapidly changing landscape? Through good education. Professor Hans Borgman is responsible for the IT curriculum at the University of Amsterdam (UvA). He explains how his university prepares young talent for this reality.
IT attracts a broader range of students
Borgman has been with the university for some time and has noticed a significant change in how students view IT education. “IT used to appeal to people with a particular passion for programming or computers. The nerds. Now it also attracts ‘poets’: people who do not necessarily have a background in the sciences. Students who want to work in marketing now study IT alongside it, or switch to IT altogether, because they realise their profession is heading in that direction.”
The reverse also happens. “We have IT professionals taking an MBA in marketing, for example, to understand the business better. This underlines how IT has become an integral part of most organisations. Business and IT are inseparable, so developing a broader perspective is important.”
"IT used to appeal to people with a particular passion for programming or computers. The nerds. Now it also attracts ‘poets’: people who do not necessarily have a background in the sciences."
A broad education grounded in current developments and practice
The curriculum reflects this by giving students a broad education with attention to current developments. This helps them become more adaptable in their future roles as consultants, IT architects or change managers, because the landscape changes quickly. According to Borgman, IT is not necessarily becoming more complex, but it is becoming increasingly intertwined with organisations and business. “Our curriculum includes developments that we believe will shape the IT landscape in the coming years. Think of digital transformation, artificial intelligence and data-driven decision-making.” To maintain a connection with practice, IT professionals from companies such as Booking.com and Unilever regularly give guest lectures and work with students on cases from their own organisations. This also gives those companies better access to tomorrow’s talent.
The challenge is more about numbers than quality
“Of course, students can still explore subjects in depth and acquire highly specialised knowledge. One of our most popular courses, for example, is Python. Overall, IT education is becoming broader and more modular. You choose what you need.”
Borgman sees many graduates returning to the UvA for a course soon after completing their studies. “They understand very well that they need to keep their knowledge up to date. These seem to me to be the key requirements for the IT professional of the future. In that respect, I am quite positive. The problem is not so much quality as quantity. We really need more IT professionals.”
"We really need more IT professionals"
About Hans Borgman
At the UvA’s Amsterdam Business School, Hans Borgman’s responsibilities include designing, coordinating and teaching the new Digital Business track within the Master’s in Business Administration. As a professor, he works to strengthen and expand research and education in business digital transformation and data analytics.
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