Year 12 student Charlie A said: “Professor Drew Milne gave an illuminating talk, sharing his own experience of studying English at Cambridge University. While many of us might think that STEM subjects are more respectable and reliable for a career choice, Professor Milne helped to address this stigma, instead arguing that studying arts and humanities can in fact help to develop skills and abilities that are useful to a large variety of careers. For example, Professor Milne showed us examples from his career where he has worked with editors and publishers, and collaborated with other artists.

Having studied English at university, he developed key team working skills and creative thinking skills that allowed him to be flexible at different points of his career. Personally, having taken creative and humanities subjects, I am now reassured with my decision to pursue these subjects further.”

Year 12 student Amelie-Grace NG said: “As Professor Milne remarked himself, most people are led to believe that only STEM subjects are truly worthwhile. I fully believed this, thinking that studying anything else couldn’t lead to ‘real jobs’ which worried me increasingly when I realised I'd chosen exclusively creatives. This talk changed that. Professor Milne explained that those who studied creatives in university actually ended up earning more and the skills that are taught through these courses are exceptionally valuable, especially in the modern workforce. Courses such as English teach transferable skills which are especially useful in a world where it is predicted that two out of three jobs that are needed now will not be in several years time. Additionally, there is such a diverse number of jobs in the creative sector that are often overlooked so there is so much opportunity to find something that one can really find enjoyable and rewarding.

Finally, Professor Milne told us about the various projects he has worked on in certain fields: acting, music, poetry and academic writing to name a few. Many people in the creative sector switch jobs frequently and easily so the work is unlikely to get boring and there are always countless opportunities due to the versatility of a creative degree.”