In this age of digital transformation, software engineers are increasingly playing critical societal roles. There are of course the long-standing challenges around what makes for good algorithms, AI-based systems and the like. The COVID pandemic has also put the spotlight on what we might call the more ‘everyday technologies’ that have enabled new forms of remote work, education, social connectivity, health care, etc. Interestingly, many of these technologies have been under development since the 1990s and earlier, but without wide uptake or impact up to now. One explanation can be the narrow focus on engineering and technology per se and not understanding that software engineering is a fundamentally human endeavour and that putting technology to work is a complex whole systems challenge. This challenges us to see the people at the centre of these software engineering practices – not just the ‘users’ but the ‘engineers’ creating these solutions. Good software engineering skills are increasingly necessary but not sufficient. Good software engineering will also require fundamental human skills (social-emotional-ethical intelligences) to work in teams, and engage across disciplines and with multiple stakeholders, and to address different levels of concerns, negotiate diverse impacts, and so on. How do we develop these essential human skills?