I guess that it's best to stick with Cisco then. Can't imagine that any of their kit would report back to CIA?!

The thing the swiss may have missed is that the affluent professionals who currently have prestige swiss watches have just one left wrist. If smartwatches become sufficiently compelling and, well, smart looking then they may begin to displace traditional fine watches.

A head of IT doesn't necessarily have to run projects, let along write code. What they do have to do is understand the business and IT well enough engage senior managers and set a direction that moves the organisation forward and improves efficiency. Once the direction is set your head needs to have the soft skills to get people aligned with it. The key skills are the ability to communicate (at every level), set a clear direction, motivate and develop people, build a strong organisation. Somewhere in that strong organisation there needs to be people who create processes (ITSM) and know how to run projects (programme office). Among other things I'd be inclined to do is assess staff satisfaction in the IT department. Very broadly, if they are hate their jobs and their bosses it's extremely likely that they have poor leadership. This is a bit different if the organisation is small (rather than medium), of course.

Tech can certainly help in the classroom, but the great thing about pens and white boards is that nobody can write faster than students an read. Plenty of academics can deliver really effective lecturers with almost no technology to assist. It's outside the classroom when the tech helps. A well mediated online discussion helps consolidate learning, good online material fills in the gaps (do you really want to cover everything that will be examined in lectures?) A quiz can help students assess how strong their understanding is. Twitter can help stimulate students thinking between lectures. Best of all, tech provided a host of ways students can talk to their lecturers without trudging across campus and hoping they strike it lucky!