There is an ongoing debate about whether universities should concentrate on teaching practical skills or theory. Advocates of the former believe that it will prepare students for work. While others claim that it’s better to zero in theoretical knowledge because it gives strong basis. From my perspective, a balanced approach combining both methods will be the most beneficial.
First of all, practices is crucial because it prepares individuals for the workplace. This means that while practising, a person receives experience that is important in work. Furthermore, the period of adaptation will be shorter due to the mentioned experience, because a person has faced similar tasks or problems before. For instance, doctors go through years of practice and only then begin working, according to statistics, students who enrol as a doctor spend 45% of their study time on internships. As a result, practice equip an individual with the vital experience which will benefit them throughout their career.
Nevertheless, understanding of a subject is also important. In other words, strong knowledge of the basics will give more opportunities and better career start. Moreover, in the present days, most employers look at attainments rather than at skills. This happens because practical skills can be acquired in the process, whereas these theoreticals cannot. For example, many engineers prefer to learn theory during their studies and acquire experience in the workplace. To sum up, learning theory at university gives not only better career start, but also rapid career advancement.
In conclusion, universities giving practical skills has as much advantages as those teaching theory. From my perspective, they both are interconnected and highly correlated. On the grounds of this, personally I prefer combined method because it provides the benefits of each.
