For decades, education at the graduate levels was delivered in silo-driven specialisations, and it still is, at most institutions around the world – with science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) pitted against liberal arts. It was widely accepted that the specialised rigour was vital to progress, academic achievement and applied implementation towards problem solving, with little room for design or arts-based intervention.
The addition of ‘A’ in STEM education was akin to the snail taking wing, bridging the schism that is bringing sustainable solutions to global problems. The biggest challenges faced by humanity include climate change, food and water security, sustainable energy, human and planetary health, disinformation, access to education, mobility and anticipating risks posed by the power of tech, including AI and robotics. While all of them are interlocked in the kindred web of woes, the wellspring of hopeful solutions rests with STEAM.
From approaching the comprehension of problems to appreciating the realm of solutions, the lens of perception is increasingly embedded in the unified field theory of interlinked dominos of diacritical domains. Vital to paradigm shifts in learning are critical thinking, creativity and problem-solving through an integrated approach, where collaborative soft-skills and cross-disciplinary influences could offer the break-through needed to solve complex problems.
The insertion of arts in science & technology-based education adds a dimension that has direct practical and business implications. With aesthetics directing functionality, ergonomics and brand dynamics, the platform of product viability promises commercial growth guided by trends, technology and trajectory of the market. Education has taken a new twist with the advent of AI. The influencer culture has become infested with bots. This regenerative algorithm, enabled by artificial intelligence, is capable of exponentially initiating stories, propagating them and allowing them to be reshaped and retold in myriad different ways – all by itself. While such a feat was welcomed with an impressive nod from its creators initially, they soon realised the power of this unchecked narrative, devoid of human intervention. It makes it intrinsically entwined with what might be real versus what could become overwhelmingly far from the truth. Not only does this burgeoning art-induced technology platform play with words and facts, but it also impacts the core of visual creativity and iterative interactive learning. The lightning speed of video content creation, 3D renderings and still images is synonymous with STEAM principles.
Technology has expanded the means and methods of engagement with an increasingly tech-savvy generation of consumers. Data trackers have crossed the threshold of conventional demographic data and transcended the avatar of elemental reveal with every iris movement and dwell time on screens turned into a trove of metadata capable of unlocking human psychology and the ability to seek adoptive solutions to layered problem paradigms.
India has long resisted the blending of sciences and arts, and the silo-based learning is still the norm at almost 99 per cent of learning institutions. Nevertheless, the situation is starting to improve, with policy-makers increasingly supporting comprehensive 360-degree learning modules. Generation Z and Generation Alpha are at the forefront of identifying and accepting non-traditional careers, understanding their potential to enhance both the quality of life and the social fabric.
STEAM views science, mathematics and engineering as deeply intertwined with creative thought and imagination. Science discovers fundamental truths, while technology manifests new realities. Both require thinking from first principles to innovate beyond existing ideas, visualising art as an embedded expression of evolving spatial, multi-dimensional concepts. STEAM education impacts 2.5 per cent of Indian GDP with soft-skill-enabled growth burgeoning beyond code to creative thinking, making arts education a strategic imperative.
Inclusion of the arts in the thinking process from the primary and secondary levels is creating a chorus of curators who are willing to advocate and implement design-thinking, while breaking the bastions of pure science and engineering. Some of the greatest Renaissance thinkers that ever lived on the planet – from Leonardo da Vinci to Albert Einstein to Stephen Hawking to Elon Musk – recognised that arts and sciences are one fused compendium that allowed human minds to comprehend the physics of the universe and our place in it, both as transient humans and the more permanent elemental nature that defines the blue-print of existence.
Imagination in education is crucial to elevating knowledge into innovation… - Elon Musk
The author is an India-born, Silicon Valley-based museum futurist, author and designer. Founding president of seminal museums, he is a proponent of STEAM education and has served on the board of directors of International Council of Museums US, Canada and the Commonwealth Association of Museums