GIGO

Cross Pollinating in Education

An engineering friend, as a student, gave a seminar on Basil the Bulgar-Slayer, a particularly enthusiastic Byzantine nationalist. It had nothing to do with mechanical engineering, but the Faculty required its students to take an interest in things outside their direct field of study. Studies in financial planning, personnel management, marketing and basic psychology were also tangential to the course, but no less useful.

Specialisation was once regarded as a true sign of achievement, but more and more emphasis in the sciences these days is being placed on cross-disciplinary studies and experience. It makes for better science and better scientists.

Further cross-pollination has come from outside science, where researchers and engineers are being encouraged to take up management. Victoria University's new Master of Management Studies in Technology is open specifically to people with science, technology or engineering backgrounds. For many years now, it has been said that our companies are dominated by a management structure top-heavy in accountants and lawyers. It's hardly surprising, then, that there has been frequent criticism of the lack of scientific or technological knowledge in management and on company boards. The hope of the MMS (Tech) people, and others around the country promoting similar efforts, is that we will be able to develop a corporate culture which recognises that there is more to business than bean-counting and kite-flying.

I have found that science and technology oriented people tend to be well read outside their field. You can talk to engineers about Byzantium, to astronomers about Hemingway, to chemists about chamber music. Sadly, those with an arts or commerce background can rarely claim familiarity with the sciences -- musicians don't usually know about mitochondria, economists aren't often au fait with Eratosthenes.

Perhaps we should also be encouraging those people to learn a little more about the sciences. There have been suggestions that university students be required to do a general first year, covering a spread of papers from science, arts and commerce faculties. It could go a long way to providing a common vocabulary for our graduates and a better informed populace.

Vicki Hyde is the editor of New Zealand Science Monthly.