Universities should require every student to take up a variety of courses outside the student s main field of study

Work and jobs, especially technical jobs, are highly multidisciplinary and multifaceted today and companies require candidates to have atleast cursory knowledge about a variety of subjects outside out of the main profile being applied for. The integration of technology and the exponential rate of development in pure sciences and engineering sciences have made working linearly, based primarily on knowledge of a single field or subject a thing of the past, outmoded. To be successful and indeed, find enjoyment and fulfillment in jobs, it is necessary for the employee to have good knowledge about a variety of seemingly unrelated subjects, because inspiration can come from anywhere.
As the career prospects of potential employees are moulded and decided in colleges and universities, it might be worthwhile for students to take a variety of subjects unrelated to their major as the author claims, but I cannot give unconditional support to this assertion.

On one hand, the assertion seems to have value and is worthwhile to be considered and seriously debated over. As previously stated, inspiration for developing a novel approach or methodology to solve new problems can come from anywhere. A good example of this are finance models based on the laws of thermodynamics, which are used to effectively predict stock price movements in the long term and predict possible effects and implications of a variety of perturbations, like a thermodynamic system being perturbed out of equilibrium. Another example is Einstein, who credited many of his discoveries and basis of his groundbreaking theories, to his love and expertise in classical music such as Mozart and his skill and finesse at playing the violin. It is also a good way for students to gauge their relative interests in various fields, before finalizing on a particular field for specializing in, as it is possible that former interest of a student in a subject based on familial suggestions and cursory knowledge can possibly be tempered by the formal methods of tuition, as well as the subjects which can be considered to lie in a selected field, allowing the student to gain true insights into his prospective field of study.

Furthermore, such diverse study plans can also help students practise multitasking and prioritizing, two of the most important skills in today's modern workplace. The workload will encourage students to plan their time meticulously and with efficacy. The intense competition in modern workplaces favours employees who work with dedication. Resolution and tenacity which students learn though difficulties and failures in college, help them imbibe a phlegmatic attitude, and drives to get the job done successfully. Students also learn this through prioritizing their subjects of study, by choosing to either work harder on their strengths to amplify them, or shore up their weaknesses and help make an all-rounded student. The diverse subjects can also help students take creative risks, follow novel and exciting train of thoughts to devise new, better solutions and encourage creativity by thinking about other subjects of study, such as art, poetry, music, etc. Thus, in a way, this could help students achieve a healthy work-life balance as well.

On the other hand though, it is necessary to understand that not all students would be suitable for such an ambitious project. Students already struggling with the workload of their majors, or having a poor track performance might not be suitable candidates for more workload, which can exacerbate their stress and lead to mental illnesses such as depression, chronic panic attacks, etc. Also, it is necessary to include those students who are not only intelligent enough to handle the workload and gain additional knowledge as is intended, but that they also be motivated, driven and interested enough to follow through on their committments. It may be that some students who have achieved good academic success are selected for the program, but are simply not interested in the subjects being offered, which would be Pyrric victory if the seat could have been better used by a student of similar calibre, but with interest. Hence, it is necessary to set up an eligibility criteria and a sorting system to select suitable candidates to preclude some of the problems mentioned. Besides, many universities and colleges offer electives, minors for fundamentally similar reasons as those previously stated, along with majors, so the author's claim that such plethora of subjects unrelated to the student's selected major must be taken, as a compulsion and not a choice is dubious, because there is no information given nor is there any intimation as to the current system of minors and electives not working or proving to be a disservice to students in some way which can be remedied by this compulsory scheme. It is also necessary that the universities and colleges have the necessary resources to handle the extra number of students who would be registered under such a scheme and would have the resources in terms of knowledgable staff and equipment to offer courses which would be far more numerous than the usual number they follow in their curricula. It is necessary to ascertain that not only students but also the educational institutes would be able to handle the workload, by way of labs, equipment, computers, etc.

Thus, the author's claim is certainly ambitious and it is clear that there are good reasons to support it, but without additional information as stated, it would devolve to mere surmise and conjecture whether this scheme would actually deliver the benefits it purports. Hence, the conditional stand I take is predicated on the good promise of the scheme but to be tempered by factual analysis and data to back up the promise held.