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Building for the future
The case for the continued relevance of arts degrees .
Mia Lindgren interviewed by Wade Zaglas
Professor Mia Lindgren is the Dean of Swinburne University of Technology ’ s School of Social Sciences , Media , Film and Education . She spoke to Campus Review about how many arts-related skills , including critical thinking , innovation and problem solving appeared at the top of World Economic Forum ’ s list of essential skills for 2025 , with social skills and technology use not far behind .
For Lindgren , the skills learnt in an arts degree will be absolutely necessary in the future , as many science breakthroughs will need to be communicated in sometimes creative ways , and with ethical considerations in mind . In that sense , the “ next-gen ” degree will be about bringing humans and science together .
She also spoke about Swinburne ’ s new and novel Bachelor of Arts degree that revolves around themes , not subjects . While cross-disciplinary knowledge from traditional arts domains will be embedded in this thematic approach , Lindgren believes such an approach will lead to more career opportunities in the future for students .
The new arts degree will also provide students with far more opportunities for workplace experience in their area of interest .
CR : Do you think arts degrees have been underrated even though they have formed a foundation for so many careers in politics , the media and education ? ML : I think it has been underrated as a degree . Traditionally , it ’ s seen perhaps not to lead to specific jobs and I think something that parents tend to be concerned about for their children . Yet , we actually know that there ’ s a lot of success that comes with arts degrees and there ’ s also so much data and studies supporting the value of a Bachelor of Arts .
We have stories of graduates going on to forge really successful careers , leading to good employability outcomes . So we know all those things , but even so , it tends for some reason to be difficult to really get the kind of value in people ’ s minds .
It might be the fact that we tend to take what we can call the soft skills , or the human skills , the transferable skills , for granted . I often say that anyone who works with humans will know that it ’ s not about soft skills . It ’ s actually quite hard skills . Dealing with humans can be incredibly cruel and problematic , working in teams , getting your communication right . So these should not be taken for granted . They ’ re absolutely core skills and they must be valued . We shouldn ’ t , just because we ’ re humans , take them for granted .
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