Systems, Man & Cybernetics - July 2016 - 22

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by Vladik Kreinovich

How to Collaborate
More Productively

EEE, the world's largest engineering society, covers many
research areas. Because of this,
IEEE consists of many Societies-
including ours. Each Society does
its best to promote its corresponding research area. For example, our
IEEE Systems, Man, and Cybernetics Society is actively promoting
research in cybernetics, systems science and engineering, and human-
machine systems.
All of the Societies do an outstanding
job in their research areas. This is great,
but sometimes, by focusing too much
on our own research areas and becoming somewhat too compartmentalized,
we tend to forget that the world itself is
whole. To solve the world's problems, it
is rarely enough to only take one aspect
of the problem into account-usually,
many aspects (in particular, many engineering aspects) are important.
To be more successful in solving
the world's problems, we need more
collaboration among IEEE Societies-
and often also with engineering and
research societies outside IEEE. We
need our results to be disseminated
outside our Societies. We are doing this
already, but, as several speakers mentioned at the April 2016 IEEE Panel of
Editors, we need to do more.
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MSMC.2016.2565919
Date of publication: 24 August 2016

ics-we can have guest editorials in
each other's magazines, editorials
that not only brag about the successes but also explain the challenges,
challenges in which the other Society's research may be able to help.
We can have more conferences jointly
sponsored by different Societies.
Of course, you, the readers, can
What are we doing to push forward
also help. If you know of a paper or
in this direction, and what can we do
article published by another Society
better? We already have technical comthat is of potential interest to us,
mittees that combine research areas
send a short review of it-with a brief
from several Societies. We have journals
explanation of why it is of interest -
jointly supervised by several Societies-
either to this magazine or, if you preand our Society is very active in this,
fer, to our Society's eNewsletter.
both by running journals in which other
You may have other ideas-if so,
Societies participate and by actively
great, send them to
participating in jourus. Ideas are what
nals run by other
we generate profesSocieties. There are
In Russia, there
sionally. Yes, usually
also IEEE-wide,
is a saying
we generate techniinterdisciplinary, incal ideas, but if you
tersocietal publicaemphasizing
come up with organtions that publish
the benefits of
izational ideas of
technical papers and
collaboration:
your own-or simsurveys of potential
"One head is
ply report successinterest to several Soful ideas already becieties. Many of us are
good, but two
ing implemented by
also active members
heads are better."
other Societies-let
of several Societies,
us know. As some
participating in conof you know, I am
ferences organized
originally from Russia, and in Rusby different Societies and publishing
sia, there is a saying emphasizing the
in various journals.
benefits of collaboration: "One head
Can we do it even better? Yes,
is good, but two heads are better."
and many ideas were described at
Clearly, thousands of heads of all the
the Panel of Editors meeting. Some
Society members are better yet! Let
technical conferences invite speakus collaborate more, and, in particuers from outside their research area,
lar, let us all collaborate in looking for
speakers whose research is of potenorganizational ideas that will lead to
tial interest to the members of the
more productive technical collaboracorresponding Society. Maybe with
tions. We are waiting for your ideas!
other Societies-especially the ones
that are close to us in research top-

IEEE SyStEmS, man, & CybErnEtICS magazInE Ju ly 2016

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Systems, Man & Cybernetics - July 2016