At the webinar on ‘Emerging Careers 2030: Why Humanities and Sciences Hold the Key’, organised jointly by SRM Institute of Science and Technology and The Hindu, experts emphasised that relatively old careers continue to remain relevant.

Pro Vice-Chancellor at SRM Institute of Science and Technology Vinay Kumar and Founder and CEO, Inomi Learning, Gurugram, Richa Dwivedi Saklani spoke of the several emerging career opportunities for students studying sciences or humanities.

Mr. Kumar said that while AI, green economy and sustainability, logistics and e-commerce, and healthcare and life sciences were emerging fields, as mentioned in the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025, existing careers would not change much in the future. He said jobs such as journalism, Human Resources, and corporate communications would remain important.

Responding to his observation that India had specific problems such as growing urban development and an ageing society, which required tailored solutions, Ms. Saklani said people who would mull such solutions would require skills in technology, entrepreneurship, and the humanities.

Both speakers stressed the importance of acquiring inter-disciplinary skills. Ms. Saklani said that while people in the sciences need to learn how to handle people effectively and identify talent, those in the humanities need to be more open to using technology, new software, and AI.

Mr. Kumar emphasised writing persuasively, critical thinking, and empathy as important skills of the present and future. “When people get trained in multiple disciplines, their thinking changes in a fundamental way,” he said, adding that the National Education Policy stressed on multi-disciplinary education.

The speakers also said internships were important in expanding CVs. Mr. Kumar said several companies now request universities to send students to work with them. He said SRM had even reduced course work so that students could take up internships. “But companies need to work with universities to make these internships meaningful,” he stressed.

Ms. Saklani said Inomi encouraged students to get internships as it helped them “build skills in a live environment with the support of mentors.” Internships, she said, helped students to “hit the ground running” when they enter the job market.

The discussion was moderated by Radhika Santhanam. This webinar can be viewed at https://newsth.live/THSRMWEB