The new Future’s Institute rightfully brings STEM & Humanities together, argues Stella Haagensen
The hefty price tag of £120 million attached to the newly opened Edinburgh Futures Institute inspires questions on what subjects are favoured when it comes to funding. When contrasted against the Nucleus building, (built built on the King’s science campus), which cost the university around £34 million, you can’t help but wonder if humanities are being prioritised above STEM subjects.
The Edinburgh Futures Institute lies within the College of Art, Humanities and Social Sciences. Despite this, the EFI puts heavy emphasis on interdisciplinary courses, combining the humanities with traditional STEM courses such as bioscience and future infrastructure. Events revolving around data science and technology are also the first to pop up upon entry to the institute’s social media pages.
I think that any critique of the buildings cost as overspending on the humanities is deeply misguided. If anything, degrees spanning across traditional disciplines evens out disparities in funding between traditional STEM and humanity degrees. Programmes offered at EFI are also far more accessible to prospective students, with most not requiring specific subjects like a general course on computer science would have. Despite this accessibility, the core sectors of the institute still feel a bit estranged from the humanities. Heavy emphasis is put on innovation in financial technology and data science. The investment in the institute is not a disproportionate favouring of the humanities, rather an attempt of furthering STEM courses that include perspectives from the humanities.
Humanities is often an underappreciated part of education. In my home country of Norway, choosing science or technology would earn you extra “points” that count towards your grade point average. In conversations with Norwegians and others who are taught to favour subjects in STEM, fields like philosophy and literature are often deemed “useless”. Because of my perception of the humanities being undervalued, seeing the inclusion of humanities in such a way that is displayed in the EFI feels refreshing. It highlights the importance of human touch, especially in technological innovation, and ensures the inclusion of humanities in developing our future.
To me, the cost of the institute is justifiable and does not symbolise an over appreciation of the humanities at the University of Edinburgh. It is an approach that should be embraced, whether you partial to STEM or the humanities.
“Edinburgh Futures Institute courtyard” by Arcaist is licensed under CC BY 4.0.
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The new Future’s Institute rightfully brings STEM & Humanities together, argues Stella Haagensen
The hefty price tag of £120 million attached to the newly opened Edinburgh Futures Institute inspires questions on what subjects are favoured when it comes to funding. When contrasted against the Nucleus building, (built built on the King’s science campus), which cost the university around £34 million, you can’t help but wonder if humanities are being prioritised above STEM subjects.
The Edinburgh Futures Institute lies within the College of Art, Humanities and Social Sciences. Despite this, the EFI puts heavy emphasis on interdisciplinary courses, combining the humanities with traditional STEM courses such as bioscience and future infrastructure. Events revolving around data science and technology are also the first to pop up upon entry to the institute’s social media pages.
I think that any critique of the buildings cost as overspending on the humanities is deeply misguided. If anything, degrees spanning across traditional disciplines evens out disparities in funding between traditional STEM and humanity degrees. Programmes offered at EFI are also far more accessible to prospective students, with most not requiring specific subjects like a general course on computer science would have. Despite this accessibility, the core sectors of the institute still feel a bit estranged from the humanities. Heavy emphasis is put on innovation in financial technology and data science. The investment in the institute is not a disproportionate favouring of the humanities, rather an attempt of furthering STEM courses that include perspectives from the humanities.
Humanities is often an underappreciated part of education. In my home country of Norway, choosing science or technology would earn you extra “points” that count towards your grade point average. In conversations with Norwegians and others who are taught to favour subjects in STEM, fields like philosophy and literature are often deemed “useless”. Because of my perception of the humanities being undervalued, seeing the inclusion of humanities in such a way that is displayed in the EFI feels refreshing. It highlights the importance of human touch, especially in technological innovation, and ensures the inclusion of humanities in developing our future.
We’re all one shop away from making a difference
To me, the cost of the institute is justifiable and does not symbolise an over appreciation of the humanities at the University of Edinburgh. It is an approach that should be embraced, whether you partial to STEM or the humanities.
“Edinburgh Futures Institute courtyard” by Arcaist is licensed under CC BY 4.0.
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