VII. Conclusion

From the opening of MIT’s Schwarzman College of Computing to the $3.1 million in awards distributed for the first PIT University Network Challenge, the academy’s engagement with public interest technology has seen seismic shifts since 2018. Interviewees were energized about what the future holds, as well as by what collaboration and innovation can do for the field’s maturation in higher education. Moreover, with initial results and experiences from PIT programs expanding, practitioners have an ever-increasing number of best practices and lessons to draw from, many of which are highlighted throughout this report.

At the same time, real challenges exist that interviewees are eager to engage with, from a tenure system that is slow to incentivize interdisciplinary work to a lack of structured career opportunities for students. Among the most pressing is the need for the field to embrace its responsibility to students. “In terms of our social contract with students, we have to find ways to make sure we are at the edge of where technology is moving,” Executive Vice President and University Provost Mark Searle of Arizona State University said.

“In terms of our social contract with students, we have to find ways to make sure we are at the edge of where technology is moving.”
–Mark Searle, Arizona State University

As the work of advancing the public interest increasingly takes place in a digital environment, the cultivation of leaders ready to take on that challenge is not only necessary but inevitable. The pioneers in the academic community who have risen to the task have already built a valuable community of practice and look to continue it moving forward. “I couldn’t imagine the Twenty-First Century without taking computing and technology head-on,” said Melissa Nobles of MIT.

“I couldn’t imagine the 21st Century without taking computing and technology head-on.”
–Melissa Nobles, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Fueled by the enthusiasm of a generation of students motivated to create change and the support of visionary leaders at all institutional levels, public interest technology is poised to capitalize on the opportunity ahead. Commitment and collaboration across the academy can make that a reality, and not a moment too soon. The pace of technological innovation must be matched in efforts to define, analyze, and evaluate it if we are to build the world we need to sustain our future.