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The call for reforms in PhD education in the STEM fields has been echoing for quite some time now. The argument is that the 21st century brings new sets of challenges in different settings, and thus scientists need to be properly equipped to face their changing environment.
To answer this, Nature asked leading authorities from around the globe what changes they think should be made in the current PhD education (link here: “STEM education: To build a scientist). The thought-provoking answers addressed various gaps in the current STEM education:
(1) move from a narrower viewpoint of specialization to training PhD graduates with a broader expertise and wider perspective;
(2) emphasize communication and management skills;
and lastly, because graduate students no longer consider academic research as the primary or sole career,
(3) track these PhDs after they graduate in order to have a better understanding of the various careers they end up in, which would in turn provide feedback on ways to improve graduate training.
Overall, the unifying message is that the 21st century scientist is no longer limited to doing research in the lab, and thus must be trained accordingly.
For more information, check out the rest of the Nature special on STEM education