Juha Henriksson thinks the broad-ranged and generalist nature of an arts degree brings new perspectives to business life. When a problem arises, an arts graduate can contribute surprising new solutions to the issue, something the others would never have even thought of.

“I have always enjoyed doing diverse things and knowing a lot about them. I don’t think it's good to study nothing but programming, say, you should also take something totally different on the side.

In the humanities, those who concentrate on highly theory-oriented research can be badly off if they ever need to find employment outside the world of academia.

“Sometimes it seems you can stray from your subject into abstruse philosophical ruminations. That might lead to brilliant research, but it can't be applied to practice in the business world.”

For current and future students, Dr Henriksson recommends taking some classes on entrepreneurship and practising writing. Many non-fiction authors and grant-funded researchers can be seen as entrepreneurs who need to sell their work to investors to get funding.

“Nowadays the proliferation of various instant messaging systems has led writing to be found in ever smaller chunks. Therefore, it's worth practising writing longer texts even if you aren't thinking of a career as researcher or author. A good writer will have a head start in any contest of applications, whether for jobs or grants.”

In job hunting Dr Henriksson stresses the importance of personal acquaintances. Getting to know other students as well as teachers during your studies will not only give you new friendships but may yield surprising benefits later.

“During your studies, it pays to meet people as widely as you can. That may lead you to many interesting jobs. Only a fraction of open jobs end up in the vacancies section of newspapers.

Even if you get your job the formal way, acquaintances may prove helpful in the performance of your duties.

“By being active in student organisations, I came to know lots of different people that I now come across in a professional context all over the place. It's much smoother and easier to establish professional cooperation if you already know the other person.”

Dr Henriksson hopes that, as far as possible, the opportunity both to switch fields and to gain work experience during one's studies will be preserved. Current plans for changes to the structure of university studies will encourage one-sided degrees and offer no opportunity to gain work experience while studying.

“Very few 19-year-olds really know what they want to do for the rest of their lives. I think freedom of choice should be preserved – the option to switch fields, at least in some fashion. I myself would have become quite frustrated if I had had to stay in computing for a further 40 years.”