Can we write 'History of the Future'?

To write an history, one must have an account of the past and stories of what went before. To write about a future, on the other hand, we must have narrative of the imagination and what lies ahead.

But what about 'History of the Future'?

At various times in the past, the great visionaries have imagined the future. They predicted forthcoming revolutions in technology, economics and socio-political changes. They envisioned flying, speeding cars, railways, automation, long distance communication, knowledge networks, Internet of Things and Robotics. They forecast economic crisis, social revolutions, political upheavals. Storylines of how they foresaw, visualized, predicted, and foretold 'world of tomorrow' is indeed the 'History of the Future'.

The stories about eco-friendly campus, green campus, sustainable campus, energy efficient campus is being written and will continue to be written in future.

Here is the future story of Smart Campus:

By 2050, 70 percent of the global population would be living in cities. That means nearly 7 billion would live in urban culture. This speed with which cities are expanding, rather exploding, is scary. But not really. The speed with which digitalization would take place over next 3 decades will simply be astonishing.

It is predicted that digitalization of cities with Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Cloud Networking would allow cities to be ecologically sustainable and would allow the development without damaging the environment. That would make them Smart Cities. Water sources would be better protected, rain water would be effectively captured and reused. Renewable energy would be easily accessible. Waste would be a source of wealth. Food would be grown more effectively, locally and organically. Mobility would be high-speed and without jams. Infrastructure would be carbon-neutral. Personal and professional financing would be automated. Even the diversity of culture, traditions and heritage would be better preserved.

Smart Educational Campus will be precursor and the laboratory of mega Smart Cities. What more, Smart Campus would be the skilling centers for the humans to manage the transition to digitalization. The story of future starts from Smart Campus. That's why our project of Smart Campus Cloud Network is called the story of the future.

Solar panels, green roofs, school gardens in the campus would promote the sustainable energy and small-scale farming. Automated recycling and reuse of waste would provide the cash from trash, Electrical Vehicles would reduce use of carbon-fuel and noise, 'sponge-ground' of the campus would retain the water in the ground, IoT would help easy parking of EVs, AI use would help in easy sourcing of knowledge, existing library buildings would be used for hydroponic technology for farming in the campus as library books would most probably be available on chips or in Virtual Reality. The story of digitalized smart campus is compelling, like an history of the future. 

- Rajendra Shende,

Chairman TERRE Policy Centre

Former Director UNEP