{"id":600,"date":"2025-06-25T17:50:36","date_gmt":"2025-06-25T17:50:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/services.conferences.computer.org\/2026\/?page_id=600"},"modified":"2026-07-26T12:19:51","modified_gmt":"2026-07-26T12:19:51","slug":"plenary-panel","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/services.conferences.computer.org\/2026\/plenary-panel\/","title":{"rendered":"Plenary Panel"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-page\" data-elementor-id=\"600\" class=\"elementor elementor-600\" data-elementor-post-type=\"page\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-13ac50e e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"13ac50e\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-7dbe89d elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"7dbe89d\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2>Plenary Panel<\/h2><h3><em>How Technology Trends and Megatrends affect Workforce<\/em><\/h3><h5 data-olk-copy-source=\"MessageBody\"><strong>10:40-11:50 Thursday 16 July 2026,\u00a0Michael Egan Hall<\/strong><\/h5><p><iframe title=\"How Technology Trends and Megatrends affect Workforce\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/iGoxlrZFnN4?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p><p><span data-olk-copy-source=\"MessageBody\">Technological breakthroughs are being announced almost weekly, such as those in large language models and agentic AI. Socio-political, economic, and ecological development trump technology advancements and form a complex net of interdependencies. Wars are being won and lost using technology, as are the wins and losses on the market, and unfortunately, the impact on nature. The ability to predict trends, especially megatrends, is becoming essential for business, technology, politics, and daily life. The IEEE Computer Society has been making annual technology predictions for over 25 years and documenting them for 10 years. The IEEE Future Directions Committee has been exploring technology megatrends and the IEEE Industry Engagement Future of Workforce for over five years, issuing reports. These reports have made a tangible impact on businesses and education, and they are widely cited and used. In this panel, we will discuss the most recent predictions and megatrends affect future of the workforce. We will offer recommendations to industry, academia, governments, and professional organizations to maintain the pace with ever emerging pace of technology development from the viewpoint of services computing.<\/span><\/p><p><span data-olk-copy-source=\"MessageBody\"><strong>Panel Chair: Rong N. Chang, IBM Research<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><strong><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-874 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/services.conferences.computer.org\/2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/01\/Rong-N-Chang-289x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"216\" height=\"224\" srcset=\"https:\/\/services.conferences.computer.org\/2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/01\/Rong-N-Chang-289x300.png 289w, https:\/\/services.conferences.computer.org\/2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/01\/Rong-N-Chang-987x1024.png 987w, https:\/\/services.conferences.computer.org\/2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/01\/Rong-N-Chang-768x797.png 768w, https:\/\/services.conferences.computer.org\/2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/01\/Rong-N-Chang.png 1172w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 216px) 100vw, 216px\" \/><\/strong>Rong N. Chang is a member of the IBM Academy of Technology at the T.J. Watson Research Center, an IEEE Life Fellow, an AAIS Fellow, and an ACM Distinguished Member. His current in-market research focus is on advanced AI platforms that enable trusted, scalable enterprise AI applications. He has received nine IBM Outstanding Technical Achievement Awards, with contributions resulting in over $200 million in revenue impact. He holds more than 30 patents and has published over 60 refereed technical papers in enterprise-grade software service composition and management automation. \u00a0He serves as the Steering Committee Chair of IEEE SERVICES and the Advisory Committee Chair for IEEE TCSVC.\u00a0 He is an Associate EiC and the Topic Area Editor for Service Computing Foundations of the IEEE Transactions on Services Computing . He is a member of Phi Tau Phi, Tau Beta Pi, and Eta Kappa Nu honor societies. He earned his Ph.D. in computer science and engineering from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.<\/p><p><strong>Panel Chair: <span data-olk-copy-source=\"MessageBody\">Dejan Milojicic<\/span>, <span data-olk-copy-source=\"MessageBody\">Hewlett Packard Labs<\/span><\/strong><\/p><p><span data-olk-copy-source=\"MessageBody\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-865 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/services.conferences.computer.org\/2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/01\/Dejian-photo-257x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"201\" height=\"235\" srcset=\"https:\/\/services.conferences.computer.org\/2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/01\/Dejian-photo-257x300.jpg 257w, https:\/\/services.conferences.computer.org\/2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/01\/Dejian-photo-877x1024.jpg 877w, https:\/\/services.conferences.computer.org\/2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/01\/Dejian-photo-768x897.jpg 768w, https:\/\/services.conferences.computer.org\/2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/01\/Dejian-photo-1315x1536.jpg 1315w, https:\/\/services.conferences.computer.org\/2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/01\/Dejian-photo-1754x2048.jpg 1754w, https:\/\/services.conferences.computer.org\/2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/01\/Dejian-photo.jpg 1894w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 201px) 100vw, 201px\" \/>Dejan Milojicic is an HPE Fellow and VP at Hewlett Packard Labs, Milpitas, CA [1998-present]. Previously, he worked at the OSF Research Institute, Cambridge, MA [1994-1998] and the Institute \u201cMihajlo Pupin\u201d, Belgrade, Serbia [1983-1991]. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Kaiserslautern, Germany (1993), and his MSc\/BSc from Belgrade University, Serbia (1983\/86). His research interests include systems software, distributed computing, systems management, and HPC. Dejan has over 300 papers, 2 books, and 100 granted and 75 pending patents. Dejan is an IEEE Life Fellow (Fellow since 2010), ACM Fellow (2026), and HKN and USENIX member. Dejan was on 9 Ph.D. thesis committees, and he mentored over 80 interns. Dejan was president of the IEEE Computer Society (2014), an IEEE presidential candidate in 2019, editor-in-chief of IEEE Computing Now and Distributed Systems Online, and he has served on many editorial boards and TPCs. Dejan led large industry-government-university collaborations, such as Open Cirrus (2007-2011) and New Operating System (2014-2017).<\/span><\/p><p><span data-olk-copy-source=\"MessageBody\"><strong>Panelist: Carl K. Chang, Iowa State University<\/strong><\/span><\/p><p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1100 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/services.conferences.computer.org\/2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/06\/CKC-Shenzhen-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"220\" height=\"165\" srcset=\"https:\/\/services.conferences.computer.org\/2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/06\/CKC-Shenzhen-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/services.conferences.computer.org\/2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/06\/CKC-Shenzhen-1024x769.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/services.conferences.computer.org\/2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/06\/CKC-Shenzhen-768x577.jpg 768w, https:\/\/services.conferences.computer.org\/2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/06\/CKC-Shenzhen-1536x1153.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/services.conferences.computer.org\/2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/06\/CKC-Shenzhen.jpg 1705w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 220px) 100vw, 220px\" \/><\/p><p><span data-olk-copy-source=\"MessageBody\">Carl K. Chang is former chair and Professor Emeritus of Computer Science at Iowa State University. He also holds a courtesy appointment as Chair Professor at his alma mater the National Central University, Taiwan. His research interests include requirements engineering, situational analytics, software services engineering and smart aging. Chang is the 2004 President of IEEE Computer Society. Previously he served as the Editor-in-Chief for IEEE Software (1991-94). He has received numerous awards and honors including the Computer Society\u2019s Meritorious Service Award, Outstanding Contribution Award, the Golden Core recognition, and the IEEE Third Millennium Medal. In 2006 he received the prestigious Marin Drinov Medal from the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. He was recognized by IBM with the IBM Faculty Award in 2006, 2007 and 2009. From 2007-2010 he served as the Editor-in-Chief for IEEE Computer, the flagship publication of IEEE Computer Society. He is the 2012 recipient of the Richard E. Merwin Medal from the IEEE Computer Society. He was also elected the 2014 Distinguished Alumnus by the National Central University in Taiwan, and received the 2014 Overseas Outstanding Contribution Award from China Computer Federation. As a frequent conference organizer, he served as the Standing Committee Chair for IEEE COMPSAC from 2006-2015, and the Steering Committee Chair for IEEE World Congress on Services from 2017-2022.\u00a0As a well-recognized scholar in software engineering, he participated in the inaugural team that developed the Guide to the Software Engineering Body of Knowledge (SWEBOK). Chang spearheaded the joint task force on Computing Curricula 2001 (CC2001) for education renovation, a joint effort of the IEEE Computer Society (IEEE-CS) and the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), that has made a major impact on undergraduate computing education worldwide.\u00a0Chang is a Life Fellow of IEEE, a Fellow of AAAS, and a Life Member of the European Academy of Sciences.<\/span><\/p><p><span data-olk-copy-source=\"MessageBody\"><strong>Panelist: <b>Ernesto Damiani,<\/b> University of Milan<\/strong><\/span><\/p><p><span data-olk-copy-source=\"MessageBody\"><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1101 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/services.conferences.computer.org\/2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/06\/Ernesto-Damiani-241x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"203\" height=\"252\" srcset=\"https:\/\/services.conferences.computer.org\/2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/06\/Ernesto-Damiani-241x300.jpg 241w, https:\/\/services.conferences.computer.org\/2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/06\/Ernesto-Damiani.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 203px) 100vw, 203px\" \/><\/strong><\/span>Ernesto Damiani\u00a0is a Full Professor of Computer Science at the University of Milan and served as Senior Director of the Artificial Intelligence and Intelligent Systems Institute at Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi. With an extensive background in secure information systems and large-scale data analytics, he\u00a0currently focuses his research on the ethical governance, security, and provenance of Large Language Models. A pioneer in the integration of cyber-physical and social computing,\u00a0Ernesto\u00a0Damiani actively investigates the application of Generative AI in sensitive domains, including clinical psychiatry and cultural heritage preservation.\u00a0\u00a0Ernesto Damiani is Principal Investigator of the &#8220;aRtificial intElligence for Process Analytics(REPA)&#8221; project, funded by the Italian ministry of University in the framework of the PRIN2022 framework programme. Furthermore, he holds a doctorate honoris causa from INSA-Lyon and is a co-founder of\u00a0innovative\u00a0startups like Mooncloud, where he works at the intersection of applied AI strategy and technical architecture.\u00a0Ernesto\u00a0Damiani\u2019s work is characterized by a commitment to creating agentic systems that enhance, rather than replace, human expertise. In 2022 he was\u00a0awarded by Italy\u2019s President the rank of Officer of the Order of the Star of Italy.<\/p><p><strong><span data-olk-copy-source=\"MessageBody\">Panelist<\/span>: Michael Sheng, Macquarie University<\/strong><\/p><p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1102 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/services.conferences.computer.org\/2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/06\/Michael-Sheng-238x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"187\" height=\"236\" srcset=\"https:\/\/services.conferences.computer.org\/2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/06\/Michael-Sheng-238x300.jpg 238w, https:\/\/services.conferences.computer.org\/2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/06\/Michael-Sheng.jpg 504w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 187px) 100vw, 187px\" \/><\/p><p><span data-olk-copy-source=\"MessageBody\"> Michael Sheng is a Distinguished Professor of School of Computing at Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia, where he also served as the Head of School during 2017-2026. Before moving to Macquarie University, he spent 10 years at School of Computer Science, the University of Adelaide, serving in a number senior leadership roles including interim Head and Deputy Head of School. Michael Sheng\u2019s research interests include the Internet of Things (IoT), service computing, big data analytics, machine learning, and Web technologies. Distinguished Professor Sheng has published over 500 high-quality research publications, which have received close to 32,000 citations with an H-index of 80. He has led 17 large-scale national-level research projects funded by the Australian Research Council (ARC) totaling over $11 million, as well as more than 30 industry projects totaling over $30 million. The quality and impact of his work has been recognized through receiving the Microsoft Fellowship Award in 2003, the Chris Wallace Award for Outstanding Research Contribution in 2012, ARC Future Fellowship Award in 2014, \u201cThe Most Impactful Authors in Services Computing\u201d (ranked top 4 worldwide), prepared by Microsoft Academic in 2021, and \u201cThe Highly Ranked Scholar Lifetime in Web Information System\u201d (ranked top 3 worldwide), prepared by ScholarGPS in 2025. Distinguished Professor Sheng\u2019s research reputation has attracted many significant appointments from institutes and organizations, including serving as the Vice Chair of the Executive Committee, IEEE Technical Community on Services Computing (2022-2024) and as a member of the ACS (Australian Computer Society) Technical Advisory Board on IoT (2019-2025).<\/span><\/p><p><strong><span data-olk-copy-source=\"MessageBody\">Panelist:<\/span> Xiaofei Xu, <span data-olk-copy-source=\"MessageBody\">Harbin Institute of Technology<\/span><\/strong><strong><span data-olk-copy-source=\"MessageBody\"><br \/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1105 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/services.conferences.computer.org\/2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/06\/xiaofei-231x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"169\" height=\"219\" srcset=\"https:\/\/services.conferences.computer.org\/2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/06\/xiaofei-231x300.png 231w, https:\/\/services.conferences.computer.org\/2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/06\/xiaofei.png 296w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 169px) 100vw, 169px\" \/><\/span><\/strong>Prof. Dr. Xu Xiaofei is a professor of the Faculty of Computing at Harbin Institute of Technology (HIT), China. He was vice president of HIT and president of HIT-Weihai campus. He is the fellow of China Computer Federation (CCF), vice director of China MOE (Ministry of Education) Steering Committee on Software Engineering, and chairman of the executive committee of the Union of MOOC associations in China. His research interests include service computing, service science and engineering, enterprise computing, software engineering, digital education, smart metaverse education, etc. He has published over 300 papers in international journals or conferences. He has received multiple awards, e.g., IEEE TCSVC Outstanding Leadership Award, CCF Outstanding Education Award, CCF Life-Time Academic Contribution Award on Service Computing, and over twenty national and provincial awards on education and research. He has been conference chairs of 20+ international conferences, including IEEE SERVICES, IEEE ICWS, IEEE SCC, ICSOC, CCF ICSS, etc. He is the general chair of 2026 IEEE SERVICES.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Plenary Panel How Technology Trends and Megatrends affect Workforce 10:40-11:50 Thursday 16 July 2026,\u00a0Michael Egan Hall Technological breakthroughs are being announced almost weekly, such as those in large language models and agentic AI. Socio-political, economic, and ecological development trump technology advancements and form a complex net of interdependencies. Wars are being won and lost using [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-600","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"featured_image_src":null,"featured_image_src_square":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/services.conferences.computer.org\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/600","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/services.conferences.computer.org\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/services.conferences.computer.org\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/services.conferences.computer.org\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/services.conferences.computer.org\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=600"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/services.conferences.computer.org\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/600\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/services.conferences.computer.org\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=600"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}