James spent the whole of the conference getting to know the subject material and hearing what the delegates had to say before delivering a topical and very entertaining presentation. It was content rich and not afraid to challenge popular wisdom.
James Woudhuysen, 55, is a physics graduate and Professor of Forecasting and Innovation at De Montfort University, Leicester, UK. Article on chemical weapons for The Economist, 1978; co-author, Robots, 1984; The future of cities, report for Glasgow Development Agency, 1988; multi-client study on e-commerce, 1988; proposed Internet TV, 1993. Manager, worldwide market intelligence, Philips Consumer Electronics, 1995-7; Cult IT, ICA, 1999; 'Play as the main event in international and UK culture', Cultural Trends, 2003; Why is construction so backward? (John Wiley), 2004; 'Computer games and sex difference', Women in Games Conference Proceedings 2005 (Abertay University), 2005; Cooking 2026 (Le Creuset), 2006; Energise! (Beautiful Books) 2008.
How to predict the future in relation to consumers, business and government
How to understand the future of IT from a demand-side, social perspective – not just the supply-side perspective of technologies (though that's included)
The big changes are not in design or IT, but in HR
James looks at all aspects of innovation – globalisation, technology, design, psychology, social priorities, regulation