[Catalist] An interesting read on the direction demand for STEM Skills appears to be heading

[Igor Bray]

Hi All. I was delighted to see so many teachers on Friday. It was a fortuitous opportunity to address the problem discussed below, and derive the solution to it.

Of course it is not an "either or" having STEM or social skills. However, one is more important than the other. I showed, following Robert Pirsig’s “Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance”,  that “social quality” is the foundation on which “intellectual quality” is built upon. So all members of a society should have social skills to be good constructive contributors to the society. However, STEM skills are at the next level of “intellectual quality”, and may not be accessible to all to the same level. For this reason, at universities we take social and communication skill development very seriously even at the highest academic level of STEM education.

With best wishes to all,

Igor

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Igor Bray, John Curtin Distinguished Professor
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From: Catalist <catalist-bounces at lists.stawa.net<mailto:catalist-bounces at lists.stawa.net>> on behalf of Leon Harris <leon at quoll.com<mailto:leon at quoll.com>>
Reply-To: "leon at quoll.com<mailto:leon at quoll.com>" <leon at quoll.com<mailto:leon at quoll.com>>, Catalist <catalist at lists.stawa.net<mailto:catalist at lists.stawa.net>>
Date: Thursday, 30 November 2017 9:13 pm
To: Catalist <catalist at lists.stawa.net<mailto:catalist at lists.stawa.net>>
Subject: Re: [Catalist] An interesting read on the direction demand for STEM Skills appears to be heading

My opinion, and a couple of points:
1) It appeared on The Conversation, it must be true!

2) There are two types of people in the world: those who like false dichotomies, and those who don't. People skills and STEM skills aren't incompatible. Suppose we have a 19th century expert on human meanings and motivations, call him Charles Dickens, and a graduate with a degree in Industrial Psychology. Who do you think Rio will employ as mine HR officer? Who understands people better? Without both good people skills and good technical skills, "nobody aint gonna manage nuthin' "

The thing with STEM is that all jobs will increasingly require those skills. Except, of course for those guys in the English department, because they don't have to use the computers graphical user interface to write reports, and well, Shakespeare is good enough. Oh, and modern forms of popular dramatisation/literature. Which require video editing. On tools that can only fully be understood in the light of mathematics, geometry and the nature of light. etc.... By the way, look to your creative/drama and theatre people for good STEM - they tend to do the integration well.

STEM will ultimately become background noise, but you wont be culturally competent unless you have some of those skills. But like typing, it will probably cease being taught as a class once the rate of technological change slows enough for it not to be required.

Have fun now, and see you at future science!

Leon


On 30/11/2017 11:28 AM, jaclyn mcgregor wrote:
Demand for people skills is growing faster than demand for STEM skills<https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/rNKaBXU9Oez0Ir?domain=theconversation.com>


<https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/rNKaBXU9Oez0Ir?domain=theconversation.com>







Demand for people skills is growing faster than demand for STEM skills
By Andrew Reeson
Despite the hype about STEM skills, research shows interpersonal, problem-solving and entrepreneurial skills wil...








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