The fashion for STEM education is a thing of the past, because robots cope with technical tasks better than humans. IT companies need more and more specialists with STEAM skills, in which a key element - humanitarian - has been added to scientific and technical knowledge, writes Quartz.
Until recently, it was widely believed that in order to succeed in a modern innovative economy, a person needs to receive a STEM education. The abbreviation stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. However, the time for STEM has passed. The new term is rapidly spreading thanks to the efforts of its many supporters, such as the Rhode Island School of Design (USA), where school and university courses for new STEAM education have been developed. The key is the added letter "A" - from the English "Arts", the humanities.
IT business now needs STEAM specialists. This is popularly explained in an article for the Harvard Business Review by Tom Perrault, head of HR at the medical tech company Rally Health. According to him, the knowledge of how to create a high-tech product is no longer enough. “Particularly because machines will soon be able to automate all technical data processing tasks. Where people can do more for the success of an innovative business is in understanding the needs and behavior of other people for whom we create our products and services, ”writes Perrault. In other words, robots are about to begin to cope with duties that require STEM education better than humans. But the humanities (for example, psychology or art) are unlikely to be mastered by machines in the foreseeable future.
Steve Jobs was perhaps the first to articulate this idea, after Apple released the first iPad. “At Apple, we are convinced that technology alone is not enough. Only the alliance of technology with art and humanitarian knowledge brings results and makes our hearts sing, ”he said then computer engineer job description.
The demand for humanities from the IT industry has been growing for several years. So the co-founder of the startup Vidyard (engaged in video marketing) Michael Litt admitted that he hires more graduates in the humanities than people who received STEM education, and also tries to dilute his engineering knowledge by studying works in philosophy and psychology. According to LinkedIn, between 2010 and 2013, the number of humanities hired by an IT company outnumbered programmers and engineers combined by about 10%.
STEAM education has penetrated the state level as well. Back in 2013, a bipartisan commission was formed in the US Congress to develop this area of education. Its members recently criticized the Donald Trump administration's intentions to liquidate the National Endowment for the Humanities, saying that "only activation of both hemispheres of the brain will teach people to think innovatively and creatively, which will be critical for economic growth in the 21st century and the creation of highly efficient jobs."
For a young man today, it makes no sense to study to be a financier, since algorithms are better than any analyst at processing financial data, said billionaire Mark Cuban. According to him, in 10 years the demand for philologists, philosophers and other humanitarians will sharply grow.
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