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Our work as educators and researchers, we’ve noticed that two issues are more salient for #youngtalent than for many leaders at top companies: global warming and gender diversity. How can companies understand young people’s perspectives and gather their creative ideas for driving business and doing good?

Am 4. März 2020 war das Digital Society Institute der ESMT Gastgeber der Konferenz Digitale Identitäten 2020, die unter der Schirmherrschaft des Bundesministeriums des Innern, für Bau und Heimat sowie des Bundesministeriums für Wirtschaft und Energie an der ESMT ausgerichtet wurde. Ziel der Konferenz war es, gemeinsam mit Stakeholdern aus Politik, Wissenschaft und Wirtschaft der Frage nachzugehen, wie eine sektorübergreifende Strategie für digitale Identitäten aussehen kann. Im Plenum und in vier sektoralen Workshops – in den Bereichen Bildung, Gesundheit, Mobilität und öffentlicher Verwaltung – diskutierten die Teilnehmerinnen und Teilnehmer über Anforderungen an digitale Identitäten, innersektorale Strategien zur Flächendeckung innerhalb des Sektors sowie über eine Strategie für eine sektorübergreifende digitale Identität.

The challenges that the EU faces with 5G go beyond cyber and national security threats. For Europe, the rollout of the 5G infrastructure has become a geopolitical test on several levels. Will Europe be a shaper or taker of 5G technology and the new era of industrialization it promises to propel? How will it be able to control the security and reliability of such key digital infrastructures in the long-term? Eventually, how should EU member states manage their dependencies on foreign technologies and strengthen their “technological sovereignty” – a political priority of the incoming EU Commission led by Ursula von der Leyen? The latter might be the most important strategic issue the EU will need to tackle in the long-term and will be decisive for the Union’s ability to shape its own future in the digital age.

There have been multiple aircraft accidents in the aviation industry resulting from a lack of error communication. Even though cultural differences have been cited as contributing factors, many accidents have happened due to the hierarchical status of the first and second officers and the reluctance of the latter to speak up during critical situations.
This is why, three decades ago, Crew Resource Management (CRM) was developed in the aviation industry. Its goal was to reduce the hierarchy gradient on the flight deck and achieve open, factual error communication to ensure the safe operation of flights. This meant creating an environment in which lower-ranking crew members would feel comfortable speaking up when observing an error made by their superiors. Today, CRM is a mandatory element of flight crew training in civilian and military flight operations worldwide. Since its introduction, accident rates have declined tremendously.
However, even after three decades, the human factor continues to be the main cause of accidents. When talking to flight crews, we observe that lower-ranking crew members are still hesitant to speak up. We therefore suggest that – on top of training people to speak up more – we should start focusing on the leadership behavior involved. This requires leaders to include subordinates through active inquiry when making decisions in critical situations, thereby creating a flat hierarchy that allows them to speak freely.