students can choose to pursue two bachelors or masters degrees simultaneously without extending the duration of the programmeit is predicted that by 2025 several job roles as we know them today will not exist it is vital that universities equip graduates with futureready skills needed in the era of industry 40 one of the immediate steps in this direction would be to upgrade the curriculum and promote industryacademia collaboration says david wilkinson deputy vc engagement macquarie university australia which is set to implement its new curriculum architecture from next yearthe move says wilkinson is aimed at simplifying programme structures offer greater depth and breadth of study options that align more to the changing marketplaces with implementation of the new curriculum the university is also introducing double degree programmesover the last two years we critically examined what other global universities are doing and have adopted the best practices we also reviewed the academic literature and took onboard industry leaders and employers to develop a curriculum that is relevant and bridges the gap between what is taught and what is implemented at the workplace says wilkinsondouble degreesthe university will start offering double degree programmes next year under the new model students will be able to pursue two bachelors or two masters simultaneously within the stipulated time and will graduate with two degrees at the end of the course durationmultidisciplinary education develops varied competencies skillsets and lead to better employability double degrees involve studying two complementary or completely different degrees and can increase your career flexibility says wilkinson he adds that students can choose from a preferred list of more than 70 specialisations to pursuebe it a combination of business management and arts finance and communication or science with commerce it is about giving students the flexibility of choice each degree curriculum is divided in two components the core and the flexiblewhen a student opts for two degrees she completes the compulsory core areas of the subject and chooses from various creditbased flexible modules of the curriculum explains wilkinson