How Arts and Science co-exist in Education
An article published in online coding school, Skillcrush’s magazine last year made a startling claim. If you want to succeed in the Tech industry, don’t major in Computer science, its headline read. That is contrary to traditional belief that if you want to make it big in a career, you master the specific field.
But today’s workplaces are anything but conventional. Tech companies now believe that creative problem solvers come from areas outside of Computer Science. Hence, it’s not unheard of for them to hire professionals with a background in Philosophy or History. In fact, it seems to be the way ahead, and the phenomenon is not related to IT alone.
Art and Science are more similar than we might think.
International business magazine Forbes picked up on a question asked on Quora – ‘Has an art ever become a Science?’ It goes on to discuss how both are human ways to understand and describe the world around us. The subjects and methods might have a different past but the motivations for the two remain the same.
Dr. Nicholas B. Dirks, Honorary Pro Chancellor, SRM – Amaravati, AP believes that Arts and Science co-exist because they come out of science and include other kinds of questions. “What is the nature of human being, what is the meaning of life, what are the historical events that have impacted the world we live in,” are some of the questions that draw them together.
How they enrich education together?
With the professional landscape changing rapidly, industry practitioners and academics are unanimous in their verdict. According to them, future professionals will have to think in innovative and lateral ways to gain the competitive advantage in their careers, as well as be valuable assets to their organizations. And the training for that will have to begin at places of higher learning.
Dr. Dirks offers examples of programs in US colleges that offer courses, which range from Physics, Chemistry and Engineering to History, Literature and Philosophy creating a diverse mix. Broad and eclectic education is something students can benefit from at SRM – Amaravati as well. It’s a place where Art and Science not only co-exist but thrive in an engaging learning environment.