Industrial convergence has potential for job creation: expert

(ATTN: UPDATES with more details in paras 5-9, 13)
SEOUL, Nov. 23 (Yonhap) -- The merging of technologies to create new products, a
trend called industrial convergence, could benefit South Korea's job market and
create new economic opportunities, a former executive of Motorola said Monday.
John Strassner told reporters at an international conference in Seoul the trend
has the potential to create jobs in South Korea and around the globe.
"The number of jobs (that can be created) will depend on how well different
industries can combine their technologies and products," he said.
Strassner, who was vice president of knowledge engineering at Motorola and a
research fellow at Cisco Systems Inc., said that people and industries have spent
too much time on technological solutions and not enough on user-friendly
products.
He forecast that growth in convergence will spur demand for industrial engineers,
human machine interface (HMI) experts and artistic designers in the future.
"In particular, jobs in areas that mix HMI, computer sciences with other factors
like automotives may grow," he predicted.
He said Apple's iPhone is successful example of industrial convergence, adding
devices such as radio frequency identification (RFID) tags are finding new
applications in health care areas.
The tags can be used to collect all sorts of health-related data that can help
doctors make better decisions to treat patients.
"In South Korea, work is underway with St. Mary's Hospital and Dongsan Medical
Center in Daegu to make full use of the RFID tags," he said.
Strassner, who is currently a professor at the division of information technology
(IT) convergence engineering at Pohang University of Science and Technology in
South Korea, said the nation is currently in the process of establishing a health
infrastructure that makes full use of the country's strong IT and health
industries.
The "stumbling block" in South Korea's efforts to build up the convergence
industry is administrative red tape, he said.
"Bureaucracy can get in the way of innovation, and I think people are scared of
working in areas outside their expertise," he said, stressing that such
reservations must be overcome for growth to take place.
The professor said for convergence to work, people and companies from different
sectors must engage in meaningful talks and exchange ideas.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
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