Professor Ulrich Schmitt’s professional background covers positions as IT and management consultant in London and Basle, as professor and vice president at two independent universities in Germany, as well as Vice Rector at the Polytechnic of Namibia and Dean of the Graduate School at the University of Botswana. He studied Management and Industrial Engineering at TU Berlin and Cranfield University, completed his PhD at Basle University, and a Science and Research Management Program at Speyer University. Currently, he is focusing on Personal Knowledge Management and is Professor Extraordinaire at the University of Stellenbosch Business School.

Has a novel Personal Knowledge Management (PKM) concept supported by a prototype system got what it takes to grow into a transformative General-Purpose-Technology (GPT)? In this address, the KM scenario of a decentralizing revolution where individuals and self-organized groups yield more power and autonomy is related to a GPT’s essential characteristics, including a wide scope for improvement and elaboration (in people’s private, professional and societal life), a broad range of diverse uses and disciplines (in the educational and work context), and strong complementarities with existing or new technologies (like Organizational KM Systems and a proposed World Heritage of Memes Repository).