Universities are one of the most important institutions in modern society. Post-secondary education provides both general skills and knowledge and sometimes job-specific training. But which of these two should be the main focus? While many people might think the focus should only be "jobs," I believe universities play a larger social rule.

Let us consider we live in an information age. If a student wants to learn about accounting or history or other job-specific information, he don't need to sit in a classroom to get it. Nowadays, anyone can get information and knowledge online and can learn on their own. So surely universities aren't needed for this purpose.

Instead, what universities should focus on is critical thinking. Anyone can memorize and get on-job training, but not everyone can think and analyse. This is a far more important skill in the real world. To be able to process information, understand it and use it, these are the skills our university should focus on building.

That is not to say that universities should not pay any attention to the workplace. Of course all graduates want to find good work. But if you ask most people in the workplace today, they will tell you that the specific skills required for their jobs were learned on-site. And if you ask most employers what they are looking for in employees, they will tell you that it is a mind that can "think outside of the box."

So while universities play a role in training people for the workforce, they primarily function as a place for training the mind. What most companies and workforces need is not robots, but creative people who can contribute ideas. Universities should be the driving force in nurturing such people.

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