Futureproof your career at the University of Witwatersrand | University - Study International News

Can we learn how to thrive in a transforming world?  continues Study International News.

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That’s the question educators around the world are asking as humanity stands on the precipice of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Described by the World Economic Forum as a range of “new technologies that are fusing the physical, digital and biological worlds, ”it is a movement that will jolt all disciplines, economies and industries.” Everything that we know about what it means to be human will be challenged.

At the University of the Witwatersrand, the answer is that, yes, we can learn to thrive. Higher education can and must prepare today’s generation for the challenges of tomorrow.

From self-driving cars to robots taking over our jobs, the 4th IR will change how we live, work and relate to one another. A PwC report found that more than one-third of workers are worried about automation putting jobs at risk. Nearly two-thirds believe, “few people will have stable, long-term employment in the future”. A McKinsey report estimates that by 2030, the time spent on technological skills will grow at the most rapid rate – 50 percent in the United States and by 41 percent in Europe – as companies deploy automation, robotics, artificial intelligence, advanced analytics, and other new technologies.

As in all times of change, this technology revolution will require universities to push the boundaries of teaching and learning...

One of the many ways Wits University does this is through the innovative teaching of the humanities, giving students a critical orientation to explore complex human-to-human and human-to-robotic relations.

The usual study of humanities trains students in critical thinking, debating and creative problem solving. Taking this further, Wits also offers a joint undergraduate programme that meshes engineering with the arts to develop a programme in game design and digital arts. At the postgraduate level, students can also enrol for a programme on e-Science or Data Science as well as an MSc in Robotics or Artificial Intelligence.
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Source: Study International News