The Hindu Business Line : Services Science — a new course for 21st century

Computerworld recently examined that question with the help of three research groups. Their ironic consensus: The most sought-after IT workers in 2010 may not be those with deep-seated technical skills after all. Basic programming and technical support jobs will continue to disappear to automation or outsourcing. But there will be plenty of opportunity for what Computerworld dubs ‘versatilists’ — those who understand business processes, can design and execute technology plans that create business value, and can cultivate relationships inside and outside an organisation.

Many in the IT field are concerned that the technical higher education curriculum in India has not evolved sufficiently to develop these hot-demand skills which cross traditional boundaries

Service Science

Fortunately, many leading universities have begun exploring and investing in the nascent field of service science to develop exactly these cross-disciplinary skills. The University of California at Berkeley, Arizona State and North Carolina State universities are among the American institutions to have established graduate-level programmes in service science. Universities in Europe and Asia are also creating programmes in this area.

In establishing such programmes, these universities are preparing students for gainful employment after graduation. Over the next decade, IBM alone is to hire thousands of service scientists.

The Best Jobs

The market requirements for technical talent are evolving quickly. The best jobs are in client-facing areas — designing advanced systems and sophisticated applications customised to add business value in a specific industry or organisation. These new jobs are much more collaborative, interdisciplinary and broader than the solitary, code-crunching jobs of the past requiring technical competence, combined with business and organisational knowledge, as well as good communication and people skills.

Preparing students for this emerging work area is the primary reason a service science discipline should take root. But another key benefit of creating this field is the potential for groundbreaking academic research in the burgeoning world of services.

Services and the world

Over the past several decades, the services sector has exploded. Even China, known for its low-cost manufacturing, envisions itself as a services powerhouse in the next five years. Yet, while services continue to grow, little analysis and research have been devoted to service innovation.

One problem: The definition of what constitutes a service can seem vague — anything from dry-cleaning to investment banking can be classified a service. As one clever economist put it, services are anything of economic value that cannot be dropped on your foot.

Because virtually every sector uses IT in its operations, there is a pressing need and opportunity for universities to focus on training and research, targeting IT services. Applying the discipline of engineering to IT services has the potential to drive tremendous innovation.

While the service sector now accounts for the majority of the labour force in the US and most developed economies, the sector has yet to see the quantum leaps in productivity experienced by the industrial and agriculture sectors.

The Future

A number of questions arise with regard to innovation, productivity and demand for services. However, these questions offer fertile, unexplored territory for sophisticated academic research. We need the creative minds on college campuses to bring their own imaginations to bear on projects that will lead to new thinking on best practices in services. That external perspective is vital to driving innovation.

With any new field, there are nay-sayers. Some will question whether such interdisciplinary and market-facing skills can be taught in universities or if they are the kinds of skills that can only be learnt on the job. Possibly similar concerns were raised in the formative days of computer science in the mid-1940s when professors and practitioners at Columbia University began teaching the first general computer science courses.

New fields of study, especially those requiring interdisciplinary involvement, are sometimes perceived as too “soft.” But as seen with computer science and software engineering, acceptance is a matter of time. It took nearly two decades from the time the first computer science course was offered before the first doctorate in computer science was granted in 1965.

But by starting now to create the courses, build the curricula, and generate the interest in research projects, the structure of the field of service science can be developed.

Forward-thinking universities are getting on with it. Professors and students in these pioneering programmes will reap the dividends — as will the firms that capitalise on this new knowledge and talent.

(The author is Programme Director and Head of Services Innovation and Research Centre.)

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