The college I teach at recently had a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) event to encourage students to get involved in those fields. There is a big push on in this country to get our students up to speed in these areas. It’s important because innovations in these fields lead to a country’s prosperity and ability to compete in a global market.
What I’m afraid of (and I do seem to be seeing it) is that the educational system is sacrificing emphasis on writing skills. It’s great to be an engineer, but if you can’t get your ideas across to someone else, you are ineffective.
Good communication skills — especially in writing — are also very important to a business’s and country’s prosperity. Just read through Carolyn O’Hara’s recent article, “How to Improve Your Business Writing” in the Harvard Business Review.
It’s great to be able to create new innovations, but you still have to tell someone about it.