We are amid a technological evolution and revolution which has significantly transformed our lives and work across several sectors. The past two decades have been fascinating and eventful, with several technical advancements, deployment of new applications, and transformation of almost all industry sectors contributing to socioeconomic progress worldwide and some serious concerns. IT Professional magazine, being active throughout these two decades (and completing 25 years of successful publications), is hosting a 2024 Essay Contest for University Students, soliciting the perspectives of university students looking forward to careers beyond their studies, navigating their paths within industry, academia, or government. 

Authors should write an essay on the theme “Envisioning Our Future Digital World,” exploring one or more of the following questions or another similar topic: 

• What will our tech-driven future look like and how can we shape it? 
• What transformative impact will IT and those enabled by IT have on us? 
• What will be the next new normal? 
• What will our lives and work be like in our smart, connected world? 
• Is everything bound to change again, soon and later? 
• Will these changes be more significant than in the past, and will they surpass our expectations? 
• What signals help us envision the future and indicate that changes will be powerful and transformative? 
• How might ongoing and potential future technological advancements impact our society, work, education, governance, and industry?

Authors should be university students between 18 and 24 years of age. The top three essays will receive a Certificate of Recognition. The winning essays will be published in upcoming issues of IT Professional. Selected other essays may also be published in the magazine.

Submission Guidelines

Submissions must be an original essay no longer than 3,200 words, including an abstract, tables and figures (each table or figure is counted as 300 words toward the limit), and no more than 12 references. For author guidelines, see the Author Information page. 

All manuscripts must be submitted to ScholarOne Manuscripts by the deadline in order to be considered. Figures and tables should be placed in the appropriate location within the template, ideally in files that are 300 dpi or higher using the dimensions defined in the document template. The use of artificial intelligence (AI)-generated text in an article should be disclosed in the acknowledgements section, while the sections of the paper that present AI-generated text verbatim should be quoted within quotation marks and provide a citation to the AI system used to generate the text.

Questions?

Contact the lead guest editor at eirini@unm.edu.