Why India Needs Stem Education

The industrial age educational system is ill-prepared to meet the demands of future professions. Seventy per cent of the top paying jobs in the future will require STEM education

- Tushar Amin

Today’s workplaces are different from what they used to be. The career landscape is in constant flux, thanks to advancements in technology as well as the general approach and interests of the latest generations entering the workforce. The changes at the workroom have been sudden, drastic and revolutionary. In the coming times, the evolving technologies will enable the creation of new, unheard of jobs.

We are living in the ‘Information Age’ that has brought with itself countless benefits like automatic factories and houses, internet banking, online courses, and degree programmes, to name a few. This rapidly increasing impact will only grow with time because technology, innovation and innovators are the future. The use of technology has changed the way companies operate, and the work that a workforce is expected to deliver. Hence, it has become essential for professionals to keep up with the evolving pace of life (and technology) in the most efficient manner. The industrial age educational system is ill-prepared to meet the demands of future professions. Tomorrow’s employee would have to be a creative thinker, a problem solver and have an aptitude to observe and adapt as the society evolves. We cannot predict how technological advance will redefine workplaces and careers in the future. But, we can definitely prepare for that future as we know the fields that will be shaping the future — science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Together, these fields are called STEM fields, and most advances impacting society have emerged from these subjects. And will continue to do so.

We can start preparing our kids from today by giving them the gears to think, reason, create and imagine. In the near future, every company is going to eventually become a technology-based company and the skill set that will be in most demand is STEM education.