Introduction

The world is faced with a complex set of global health challenges that require multistakeholder and transdisciplinary efforts to address them. In this context, future global health professionals must be able to navigate disciplinary boundaries, engage with society, and acquire the competencies needed to tackle complex challenges. Consequently, higher education institutions (HEIs) are tasked to prepare global health students by infusing transdisciplinary values and skills into their educational programs.

At VU Amsterdam, we redesigned the global health minor program open for all Bachelor level students by embedding a Transdisciplinary Global Health Challenge (TGHC) developed using the challenge-based learning (CBL) approach. In this initiative, a diverse group of students from different disciplines, universities, and countries worked with societal partners on real-life health-related projects for five months to address societal challenges.

Objectives

This article describes the design, implementation, and evaluation of the TGHC, showcasing how educational programs can integrate and scaffold transdisciplinarity, and create meaningful partnerships between HEIs and society to tackle complex challenges.

Methods

An action-research approach was used to implement, evaluate, and improve the design of the TGHC. Through continuous learning cycles of planning, acting, and reflecting, we closely monitored the project's progress, stakeholder experiences, and design elements at different stages. A variety of qualitative methods, including FGDs, reflections, and narrative documentation were used to capture the inputs and experiences of students, community partners, and teachers.

Results

Throughout the implementation of the TGHC, stakeholders (students, partners, teachers) navigated a complex journey of transdisciplinary collaboration, resulting in diverse co-learning experiences and lessons on design considerations. Our findings revealed two intricately connected facets of learning: (1) learning about and through transdisciplinary collaboration, and (2) learning related to designing transdisciplinary education. Whilst stakeholders initially encountered challenges in collectively navigating the collaborative process, including managing expectations, defining project goals, and establishing effective communication channels; iterative cycles of action and reflection led to the identification of key areas for improvement in both the collaboration and the design and execution of the pilot. This process facilitated positive transformations among all stakeholders. For students, the project helped develop essential competencies in Transdisciplinary collaboration and instilled a sense of civic responsibility. Community partners benefited from strengthened connections with the University, and teachers acquired new teaching skills related to transdisciplinary education. Furthermore, the implementation of the TGHC highlighted valuable lessons on embedding educational innovation within existing frameworks, highlighting the need for sustainable solutions to cater to the resource-intensive nature of transdisciplinary programs.

Implications

This pilot project underscores both the opportunities and challenges associated with embedding transdisciplinarity into educational programs. It emphasizes the importance of finding a balance between different learning formats (open vs closed/guided), allowing stakeholders ample freedom to shape their collaboration, and providing a supportive framework to facilitate learning and understanding of new concepts. The pilot project generated valuable lessons and insights on design principles for transdisciplinary education with important implications for further practice and research.

In contemporary society, the need to address pressing and complex problems, requires a new generation capable of driving change to influence the future. Education serves as an essential building block for knowledge and skills for this new generation (Jensen-Pennington, 2021). Transdisciplinary education - where students, teachers, researchers, and societal partners from different disciplines learn, work, and research together on an equal footing - provides a response to these challenges (Bernstein, 2015; Mauser et al., 2013). It encourages innovation and the generation of new knowledge (Mokiy, 2019), and integrates different disciplines by working towards a shared common goal (Max-Neef, 2005).

This research investigates major organizational and pedagogical challenges for this transdisciplinary education. It focusses specifically on transdisciplinary collaborations in Dutch higher education, incorporating perspectives of teachers, students, policy makers, and researchers. The research also contributes to the development of TRAIL, a new online tool for the development and implementation of higher transdisciplinary education, that builds on the results of the European project STEAM+. Matching the broad scope of TRAIL, this research covers a high variety of themes, as formulated in the research question: What are the main pitfalls and successes in establishing, implementing, and evaluating transdisciplinary higher education for teachers, students, policy makers, and researchers, both in terms of pedagogy and organization, and in collaboration with societal partners? 

In order to identify these pitfalls and successes, two methods were employed. In eight focus groups with teachers, policy makers, researchers and students, the pains and gains of transdisciplinary education were identified through a Value Proposition Canvas (Fransen, 2022). Additionally, ten semi-structured interviews were conducted with experts and experienced individuals in the Dutch field of transdisciplinary higher education. The focus groups and interviews were transcribed verbatim, coded, and analysed using Atlas-ti. 

Respondents commonly identify the positive effects on students' development aligning with the Inner Development goals (Jordan, et al, 2021), as particular important merits of transdisciplinary education. These gains exist among others of practical experience in addressing complex societal issues and an increased intrinsic motivation for all involved project participants. Organizational pitfalls relating to space, time, and reconciling interests of different parties involved, are identified as possible pains during the development of transdisciplinary education.

The final results can contribute to an understanding of the organizational implementation and design of transdisciplinary collaboration in higher education, about which literature is still limited (Horn et al., 2022). Relating to the lack of pedagogical frameworks for transdisciplinary educations, such as for assessment methods and learning objectives, (Horn et al., 2022), the results of this study seem to offer broad insights which can contribute to the identification of specific follow-up research questions.

Often, transdisciplinary projects start with enthusiastic individuals, often teachers, who are facing the same challenges (Tijsma, Urias, Zweekhorst, 2023). The results contain insights into these challenges, which can be beneficial for different parties which seek to develop or implement transdisciplinary education. By initially incorporating the research findings in the new TRAIL tool, this study can serve as a foundational resource for initiators in transdisciplinary education. 

The need for more transdisciplinary collaborations to tackle society's complex challenges is widely acknowledged in theory. However, the empirical landscape lacks substantial examples of how to operationalize such collaborations effectively. The SPRING Consortium, an initiative aimed at addressing health inequalities in Rotterdam neighbourhoods under the Resilient Delta Initiative, serves as a pertinent case study, providing insights into the challenges inherent in establishing and sustaining transdisciplinary research consortia. Since its inception, the SPRING consortium has undergone significant evolution. While it garners considerable interest from various sectors of society eager to engage in transdisciplinary research on health inequalities and well-being, its growth trajectory resembles that of Frankenstein, making it difficult for the initial partners to maintain a clear connection with its original vision. Drawing from participant experiences within the initiative since 2021, the proposed presentation will delve into systemic, design, and interpersonal aspects of developing a transdisciplinary consortium. Employing qualitative methods and a joint timeline mapping approach, the research unveils pivotal milestones in the consortium’s development, shedding light on some enabling and inhibiting factors for transdisciplinary collaborations. Key enabling factors identified include co-creating a shared vision, securing funding, establishing good governance, and aligning research approaches. Conversely, the absence or lack of clarity in these areas manifests as various challenges within the consortium. The findings also underscore the importance of experiential learning and knowledge integration as essential elements for ensuring continuous learning and shaping the consortium. The evolving nature of SPRING underscores the critical role of shared visioning in laying the foundation for constructive governance arrangements and collaborative endeavours. This presentation provides a reflection that will provide lessons for the ITD research community, emphasizing the need for adaptable governance structures and intentional collaboration in addressing complex societal challenges, thereby guiding future initiatives toward meaningful societal impact.

In this session, we will explore the insights drawn from our collective experiences as a design and teaching team involved in the interdisciplinary and interfaculty undergraduate minor program at Utrecht University known as the minor Language, Law, and Culture. The focus of this session is on discussing methodologies aimed at developing sustainable interdisciplinary education initiatives that connect various faculties. Our goal is to foster an open dialogue surrounding the promises and challenges inherent in designing interdisciplinary undergraduate teaching initiatives. We'll candidly discuss both the successes and areas for improvement, reflecting on what worked well and where we could have done things differently. Essentially, we'll explore the lessons learned from the process of designing this minor.

The iconic scene from Alice in Wonderland, the Mad Hatter’s tea party, serves as a metaphor for the sense of discovery and creativity we encountered as a collaborative team of educators and designers from Law, Humanities, the Centre of Academic Teaching and Interdisciplinary Education. Much like the Mad Hatter's Tea Party symbolises unconventional thinking, we argue that creativity is pivotal in interdisciplinary teaching, serving as a conduit for tackling problems from diverse perspectives and fostering innovation. Emphasising creativity as a cornerstone of success, the session delineates the iterative design, testing, and revision process underpinning the minor's evolution.

In Utrecht University's minor Language, Law, and Culture students discover new perspectives on societal matters influenced by linguistic, legal, and cultural dynamics. Essential themes encompass storytelling, interpretation, forensic linguistics and human rights. Graduates of this program can apply the acquired knowledge and skills to diverse career paths, including legal practice, academia, policymaking, communication strategies, journalism, and education.

The minor is affiliated with a broader theme at Utrecht University known as the 'strategic theme' Institutions for Open Societies, with more than 600 academics from various faculties and social partners. The minor aligns with its key objective, to foster interdisciplinary collaborations and growth as academics and students to effectively tackle the challenges of our time and contribute to the advancement of open and resilient societies worldwide.

This session embarks on a reflective journey through the design and execution of the minor from 2018 to 2024. Theoretical underpinnings and practical challenges are scrutinized. From navigating administrative hurdles to celebrating incremental victories, the session offers insights into the intricacies of interdisciplinary education design and implementation. The session also highlights the imperative of continuous lobbying for support and recognition, emphasizing the value of team cohesion, trust and collaboration. We also share our experience of having an integration expert on our design team, as proposed in the article by Hoffmann, S., Deutsch, L., Klein, J.T. et al (2021). We provide tangible examples highlighting the valuable contribution of an integration expert in our design endeavours. We eagerly anticipate the insights and opinions of session participants on this aspect.

We acknowledge the significance of creativity and play within the design process as well as within the minor itself. Various learning activities are implemented to encourage the further development of students’ creative thinking skills. Creative thinking is identified as an important aspect of interdisciplinary research. Creativity is needed to connect disciplinary insights towards a more comprehensive understanding of complex problems (Repko and Szostak 2021, 329-331). Hence, we’ve employed innovative approaches that complement the minor's objectives and will share some examples. For instance, we incorporated role-playing centered on an 18th-century court case regarding freedom of speech. Additionally, we utilize an escape room activity to immerse students from various disciplines in personal narratives concerning human rights issues.

Creative writing also plays a crucial role in our minor. The minor teaches students to not only reflect on the versatility of language in their future practice within a legal and societal context but also to develop their voice as writers. It equips them with a toolkit to employ language as a grammatical, literary, social and communicative medium in the context of law, thus enhancing their communicative skills. Inspired by the core principles of the well-known study book Habits of the Creative Mind, our goal is to elevate students' writing abilities by reshaping their thinking habits. Following the book's philosophy, we aspire for our students to evolve as writers who exhibit curiosity and creativity in their future career paths. Participants of this session will therefore engage in a playful creative writing exercise mirroring the interdisciplinary teaching style of the minor, delving into disciplinary overlaps and differences. We will discuss writing assignments tailored for students to explore ways to harness the narrative power within legal contexts.

Take a sip from a teacup and join us as we discuss both accomplishments and possible failures in the field of crafting interdisciplinary education, exemplified by designing and implementing the minor Language, Law, and Culture. Let’s step into the whimsical ambience of the Mad Hatter's tea party, where creativity knows no bounds.

Key readings

• Hoffmann, S., Deutsch, L., Klein, J.T. et al (2022). ‘Integrate the integrators! A call for establishing academic careers for integration experts.’ Humanit Soc Sci Commun 9, 147. [DOI: https://doi-org.proxy.library.uu.nl/10.1057/s41599-022-01138-z]

• Miller, Richard E. & Ann Jurecic (2020), Habits of the Creative Mind: A Guide to Reading, Writing & Thinking. 2nd edition. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin's: Macmillan Learning.

• Repko, A.F. and R. Szostak (2021). Interdisciplinary Research: Process and Theory. 4th edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.