Mind the gap! Electronics and communications in the engineering continuum

Real-world problems do not respect the boundaries of engineering or established academic disciplines. This is illustrated by examples drawn from four broad research themes: the information society, sustainable development, transport studies and healthcare engineering. These unquestionably represent some of the major challenges of the day. The author argues that a holistic interdisciplinary approach, with electronics and communications playing a seminal role in the engineering continuum, has enabled real and substantive advances to be made, the total achievements being far more than the sum of the parts.