Do we need specialised degrees?
A business school or university intends to provide students with specialised knowledge. This equips students with the required acumen to perform in the professional world once they graduate. Traditional career paths remain focused on engineering, medicine, architecture, aviation, banking and business management. Associated fields may include marketing, Human Resources, accounting, finance, economics, computer sciences or media studies. While the education track until Intermediate or A-levels is more or less generalised here in Pakistan  students are expected to make well-informed, conscious decisions regarding their future careers when applying to higher education institutes  Business schools in particular need to be mindful that prospective students  even after completing Intermediate or A-levels  may not have developed the broader scope of learning required to help them gauge what sort of profession they might be interested in after completing a four-year undergraduate degree. Therefore, advice, guidance and counselling is needed. Ideally, this should happen at the time of application and relevant coaching and test preparatory centres can play a collective role towards this end. The MBA track offers less theory and more conceptual learning. Thereby providing students with insights into the corporate sector at the operational and strategic levels. Business schools can additionally offer specialised courses linked to relevant industries while offering necessary technical, procedural and practical know-how  It is also important that universities, especially business schools, do not offer overly specialised courses at the bachelors level. There should be a mix and match of various electives under each main degree programme. For instance, a BSc in Economics should look beyond the obvious to include courses related to management, communications, finance, statistics, actuarial science and computational statistics. A student interested in studying economics will eventually want to explore the above. Furthermore, a BSc in Computer Sciences would do well to offer a selection of courses covering management, mathematics, computer science, economics to accounting. Naturally, such an approach must be deliberated upon with diligence by the concerned academic councils of the respective business schools to make it relative, accurate, and in line with governing academic bodies. Indeed, foundation courses offered at the undergraduate level help develop students aspirations and interests and hopefully serve to guide them towards post-graduate study. Thereby playing a decisive role in their future chosen careers. The debate over generalised versus specific undergraduate degree programmes is an old one. When it comes to business schools, generalised programmes can fine-tune and streamline Master-degree programmes. Meaning that once students have applied to or enrolled in a specific programme the course structure can be aligned to that of relevant Bachelor programmes. Of course, much depends on student feedback and personal experience of particular courses. The MBA track offers students courses that have less theory and more conceptual learning. This provides them with insights into the corporate sector at the operational and strategic levels. Business schools can additionally offer specialised courses linked to relevant industries while providing students with necessary technical, procedural and practical know-how. For instance, an MSc in Computer Sciences will offer students applied in various fields. Whereas as an MBA in Industrial Management will help students, already working in specific industries, acquire the acumen to understand management processes while improving technical skills. It makes more sense to take this approach than at the undergraduate level. For a student already working as a plant supervisor, technical staff, or operations manager may connect well with an MBA in Industrial Management since they have practical knowledge of what the course structure disseminates. Business schools in Pakistan need to understand the market trend of every course before launching it or adding more modules to it. Students perceptions about careers and their views about various professions are changing. There is a clear difference between the awareness of a grade 12 / A-level student from two decades ago to one who is currently enrolled in this educational track. Thanks to digital media and business schools offering clear information on their websites  students have a better idea of which professions to pursue. Business schools need to make the students experience worthwhile, productive, and holistic. Then they need to take action accordingly. The writer is a fiction writer, columnist and author of Divided Species, a sci-fi story set in Karachi