Culture Experts Predict Good Job Prospects for Humanities Students
On Wednesday, 15 February 2012, the UIC Faculty of Humanities held the third edition of the Humanities Workshop under the title ?Humanities in a Changing Professional World?. The main focus of the workshop was a roundtable session in which prominent professionals from international and cultural organizations participated by discussing their current situation and the different career paths available to Humanities graduates these days. This year, the workshop was attended by about 50 people, including students in their final year of secondary school in Barcelona and UIC Humanities students.
Alexandra Guzmán, the Vice Dean of the
UIC Faculty of Humanities, was responsible for moderating the roundtable
session and introducing the speakers. The first speaker was curator Antònia Maria Perelló, who looks after
the MACBA Collection and teaches in the Master's Programme in Cultural
Management at the UIC. In her speech, Dr. Perelló said, "One of the positive aspects of studying a Humanities
degree is the flexibility it gives you when it comes to choosing a career". She
also urged the students to make the most of institutional internship programmes,
since they represent the first step towards entering the professional world.
Next to speak was Laura Sáenz, the director of the Department of
Human Resources and a member of the Board of Directors at Intermón Oxfam. She
emphasized the added value of Humanities degrees and said, "Studying the
Humanities provides people with resources and references and turns them into
versatile, multidisciplinary professionals".
Carla Ventosa, who
works in Marketing and Fundraising at UNICEF Catalonia, supported the words of
Sáenz and added, "Being a humanist means constantly evolving". She also
stressed the importance of networking and making oneself known.
After Ventosa's speech, Mohammed Elrazzaz, a cultural manager and
professor who teaches in the Master's Programme in Cultural Management at the
UIC, spoke about some of the myths surrounding career opportunities for arts
graduates and highlighted the profound aspect of culture.
Last to speak was Mike Ribalta from
FiraTàrrega, who concluded his speech with the following reflection: "If you
are passionate and enterprising, Humanities is the degree for you."
Dr. Guzmán then thanked the audience for their attendance and the
guests for their contributions before opening up the floor to questions and
allowing the students to exchange opinions with the speakers about the world of
culture and career prospects in the field.
The Faculty of Humanities organized
this workshop for the third year running. The objective was to demonstrate the
relevance of Humanities in society today and inform future students about their
career options.