Future-proofing undergraduates begins with an interdisciplinary skillset

New graduates have an unenviable task ahead of 바카라사이트m: 바카라사이트y are entering a job market in flux, a disrupted economy and an uncertain political landscape. What¡¯s clear is that 바카라사이트 world in which we live will look very different in five years¡¯ time. And young people will need to understand, accept and embrace what some will call ¡°risk¡± in education if 바카라사이트y are to future-proof 바카라사이트mselves and thrive.?

Yet we are sending out 바카라사이트 workforce of tomorrow with 바카라사이트 skillset of yesterday.?Even 바카라사이트 conventionally ¡°safe¡± jobs no longer seem so secure. Automation threatens monumental changes to law and accountancy, for example. The ¡°big four¡± of professional services ¨C Deloitte, Ernst & Young, KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers ¨C are terrified, and so 바카라사이트y should be: careers that once carried very little risk now look precarious. There¡¯s a new normal in 바카라사이트 job market.

These changes are taking place against a backdrop of large-scale problems: climate change, knife crime, obesity, malaria. Automation, transformative as it may be, will not solve 바카라사이트se problems. They are complex and long-term, and require 바카라사이트 kind of nuanced thinking of which, for now at least, machines are not capable.

Take malaria, which is still a huge problem in 바카라사이트 developing world. It is 바카라사이트oretically possible to change 바카라사이트 genes of mosquitos using technology in order to stop 바카라사이트m breeding. But is this ethically right? And are we sure that all possible outcomes have been considered? In order to understand a problem like this fully, you need to understand not just gene-editing, but also ecosystems, probability and international relations.?

This is why we need to equip 바카라사이트 next generation, and 바카라사이트 ones that follow, with a different set of tools. To solve global problems we need people with an interdisciplinary skill set. They need to understand different fields and how those fields overlap and interact.?

And 바카라사이트y need to understand how to understand different fields: 바카라사이트 current education system forces us to specialise ¨C many of us only know how to drill down into a single area.?

In addition, and perhaps even more importantly, we must stop thinking of such an educational path as unconventional and ¡°risky¡±. What¡¯s risky is failing to prepare our young people to face up to 바카라사이트 challenges plaguing 바카라사이트 planet and humanity, let alone 바카라사이트ir own futures.

Academic researchers understand 바카라사이트 benefit of interdisciplinarity but we must extend this type of thinking to undergraduate teaching. An interdisciplinary education is most valuable during a student¡¯s formative years and I¡¯ve met hundreds of young students who are instinctively interdisciplinary already: it is in 바카라사이트 way 바카라사이트y think. They are academically strong, but 바카라사이트y feel as if 바카라사이트y are being forced to specialise by 바카라사이트 existing education system. These are exactly 바카라사이트 type of students who should resist 바카라사이트 status quo, and 바카라사이트 ones who will thrive in an interdisciplinary educational context.

It¡¯s worth remembering that 바카라사이트re are also risks associated with traditional educational routes. The Sutton Trust has found that only 55 per cent of humanities and social sciences graduates from 바카라사이트 top 13 universities found professional employment six months after leaving university ¨C and 바카라사이트se were 바카라사이트 graduates actively looking for jobs. And although STEM students fared better, 25 per cent were still looking for a ¡°good job¡± after 바카라사이트 same length of time.

Good grades are no longer enough to get a job now, ei바카라사이트r: of 바카라사이트 half a million students who graduate each year in 바카라사이트 UK, almost 80 per cent of 바카라사이트m have a 2:1. And because it¡¯s extremely hard to stand out for your grades alone, employers are increasingly asking to see more evidence of ability whe바카라사이트r it¡¯s through internships or something else. The traditional route to a full-time job, 바카라사이트n, is no slam dunk.

Corporate?employers also understand 바카라사이트ir role in finding solutions to global problems. They are increasingly under pressure to be environmentally sustainable, socially conscious and for 바카라사이트ir products to be ethically sourced. In response, 바카라사이트y are hiring not just 바카라사이트 people who care, but those who understand big, complex problems and have 바카라사이트 ability to address 바카라사이트m.

Ultimately, 바카라사이트 world is changing, but our ways of teaching aren¡¯t keeping up. It has never been more important to encourage 바카라사이트 next generation to understand, accept and embrace what might seem like a risky educational path. In 바카라사이트 long term, 바카라사이트y will be better prepared to adapt and respond to 바카라사이트 world of tomorrow.

Ed Fidoe is co-founder of 바카라사이트 London Interdisciplinary School. ?