"Studying a diversity of subjects allows us to be better human beings," Dr Klawe said. Dr Klawe's talk gave examples of success when disciplines are brought together via a trans-disciplinary education, of facilitating and building teams, and of enabling unusual success to address complex social issues, including those faced by Pakistan such as energy or migration. "Learning is something humans do well as a social activity," she added.
She encouraged educational institutions to think about why they pursue education. "You need to develop the experience of overcoming challenges," she said. In her talk, Dr Klawe felt strongly about an error in society for equating ease of learning with ability to become the best. She said that in trans-disciplinary education, the learners become creative at problem-solving endeavours and she highlighted the role of teachers in this process.
Dr Klawe said that the applicability of computer science in these days is ubiquitous, no matter whether you enjoy painting like me, or music, biology, or development.
She also paid particular attention to women hoping to enter the field, telling them of her own experience, "the rule is, you will encounter discrimination and people not believing in you all over the place, and you just have to learn from it." Dr Klawe is one of the world's leading computer scientists, with significant contributions in several areas of mathematics, theoretical computer science, and human-computer interaction throughout her more than 20-year academic career that included serving as Dean of Engineering at Princeton University.
Her accolades also include being 17th on Fortune's 2014 List of the World's 50 Greatest Leaders.