Professor Janet Stewart, Executive Dean of our Faculty of Arts and Humanities, spoke at the Times Higher Education Europe Universities Summit in Budapest last week.
She joined a high-profile panel to talk about why a strong arts and humanities education matters, especially in a world focused on science and technology.
She shared how Durham’s Transformative Humanities programme brings together ideas from different subjects – across the humanities, social sciences, life sciences and natural sciences – to help address big global problems.
“Creativity, in a sense, is a foundational skill,” Professor Stewart said.
“If we’re going to deal with artificial intelligence effectively, we need to be able to use that tool creatively. If we’re going to think about how we educate the medics of tomorrow effectively, we have to do that creatively.”
Throughout the summit, delegates explored the idea that innovation is not solely about technological advancement.
As Professor Stewart reflected in her post-summit commentary, “Innovation, the summit revealed, is about people as much as it is about technology – it's deeply rooted in habits, beliefs, values, all of which are the purview of the arts and humanities, as is language.”
She also raised concerns about the language used in academia and rankings, arguing that certain terminologies unintentionally exclude the arts and humanities.
For instance, she pointed out that current interdisciplinary science rankings overlook vital fields such as medical humanities, despite their critical role in shaping compassionate, creative approaches to healthcare and research.
Professor Stewart’s participation at the summit came amidst wider discussions about the need for better connections between arts and humanities and industry.
She emphasised that Durham’s Transformative Humanities programme offers a model for integrated and interdisciplinary knowledge production that is relevant across sectors.
As she concluded, “At a time in which the fundamental values that form higher education are at stake, it makes sense to ensure that we develop measures to capture the value of truly integrated knowledge production and exchange across all disciplines.”
We continue to lead the way in advocating for a more inclusive and impactful approach to education and research.
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