As society evolves, we are faced with increasingly challenging and intricate problems. These problems usually involve intricate systems where an alteration to one component can impact other components. Researchers working in silos struggle to address such complex issues. Interdisciplinary research, where multiple academic disciplines are combined and thinking takes place across boundaries, presents opportunities to address pressing issues of our day.

In this study, we present a flexible framework (the CSH-3W tool) that can be used by both industry and academia to guide an interdisciplinary project. The framework combines critical systems thinking, action research and the three worlds of Habermas to form a practical tool for interdisciplinary research and problem solving. The CSH-3W tool guides the researcher to systematically identify and reflect on a research problem and its various facets. It ensures that various viewpoints and the interplay between different subsystems are considered. It challenges researchers to explicitly reflect critically on the boundaries of their research design and engage in dialogue with various stakeholders that may question these boundaries, possibly leading to the broadening of boundaries. This aspect can be of particular value in interdisciplinary research. Problem-solvers are guided to first take a step back, consider the bigger picture and then zoom in to examine the details. This process is repeated to generate innovative solutions.

The problem of how to enhance the employability of data science students will be used to demonstrate the CSH-3W tool. Disciplines that were involved in this study, included psychology, education, industrial psychology, operations research and data science. Each of these disciplines contributed to a better understanding of the problem and how to address it holistically.

The tool is not only easy to use but also versatile. It can assist in research planning, project planning in industries, and can be used to teach students problem-solving skills. The tool provides a valuable resource for researchers, educators, and industries to tackle the various challenges of our time through interdisciplinary initiatives.

The Horizon 2020 funded SHAPE-ID project (Shaping Interdisciplinary Research in Europe) addressed the challenge of how to strengthen the integration of the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences in inter- and transdisciplinary research. In June 2021, the project’s online toolkit was launched. This web-based toolkit was designed to provide guidance for those engaged in or supporting inter- and transdisciplinary research: researchers, research performing organisations, research policymakers and funders, and societal partners.

SHAPE-ID’s funding ended in October 2021 but interest in our toolkit remains high, and project members continue to use its resources in their daily work to help grow the capacity for inter- and transdisciplinarity, including through the work of the ITD Alliance Toolkits and Methods Working Group. The continuing use of our resource illustrates the importance of institutionalising inter- and transdisciplinary research within universities and other higher education institutions.

In this short video we focus on the vital role that research professionals play in capacity building and talk to two former project members, Dr Doireann Wallace, Senior Interdisciplinary Research Funding Specialist, Trinity College Dublin and Dr Giovanna de Moura Rocha Lima Impact Officer at Eramus University, Rotterdam. We ask them about the ways in which they promote best practice in the conduct of inter- and transdisciplinary research using the Toolkit, and what further resources are needed to improve the support they provide to researchers and other research professionals.

Interdisciplinary practice is hard to teach. While disciplinary differences are easy to identify, teaching the integration of conflicting insights is a challenging move from theory into practice. For students, the practice and products of interdisciplinarity remain abstract ideas until they achieve academic maturity. This maturity proceeds coursework in disciplinary history, philosophy of science, multidisciplinarity, and finally, interdisciplinary theory. Even then, students’ successful interdisciplinary experience depends on a precarious synthesis of case study, discipline, conflicts, and techniques.

The process and products of interdisciplinary practice can seem, in this sense, a distant pie in the sky. Yet cross-disciplinary practices are commonplace outside the university classroom. Method mixing, concept borrowing, and the solving of conflicts through techniques like redefinition and extension occur regularly among innovators who can critically reflect on their own tried traditions and systems.

The success stories of these innovators have been popularized as “out of the box” thinking after their innovations led to paradigmatic shifts in policy, new areas, or new organizations. The popularization of their stories translates their innovative experience for the masses. An interdisciplinary eye, however, might recognize “out of the box” thinking as a stepping beyond the boundaries of one’s own discipline, tradition, or episteme. The interdisciplinarian might identify an application of new methods or the adoption of other vocabulary as an extension of theory or a redefinition of concepts.

Parallels between innovation outside of the academy and interdisciplinary theory can provide concrete examples of successful interdisciplinary practices for the novice interdisciplinarian. By referencing relevant examples of innovation, teachers can show students that successful interdisciplinary practice is attainable and useful. Furthermore, the principles governing interdisciplinary collaboration -- perspective taking, empathy, flexibility, creativity, and compromise – come to the foreground as indispensable skills for successful integration.

The 2017 Netflix series “Mindhunter,” based on the book by John Douglas (1995), is an accessible tool for teaching students about the fruits of creating common ground, resulting in innovative forensic practice and a new FBI department. The 2011 film “Moneyball,” based on the book by Michael Lewis (2003), documents the unprecedented implementation of statistical methods for player selection, resulting in innovative baseball management practice that has even been expanded for use in soccer. Finally, the “living paintings” of Refik Anadol integrate artificial intelligence and data science into art practice.

This video will present parallels between innovative practice and interdisciplinary practice through references toward innovators outside the academy. The goal of this video is to familiarize a non-academic public with the principles and techniques of interdisciplinary science. The video will ask the question: What can we learn from these examples of innovative practice? By framing “out of the box” thinking as cross-disciplinary activity, viewers will be stimulated to concretize interdisciplinary practice through baseball, criminal profiling, or “living paintings.” Because the content will be directed toward a non-academic public, it will be accessible for students in a novice stage of interdisciplinary education.

In the current academic landscape, the pursuit of sustainability transcends disciplinary boundaries. As the challenges of the Anthropocene intensify, the imperative of interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary approaches becomes increasingly evident.

In this context, the Future Earth Research School (FERS) was launched in 2022 by the Euro-Mediterranean Centre on Climate Change Foundation (CMCC), with the support of the Emilia-Romagna Region in order to foster collaboration and innovation through transformative educational pathways dedicated to young researchers and professionals committed to addressing global environmental challenges from diverse disciplinary perspectives. How does the innovative approach employed by the Future Earth Research School (FERS) transcend disciplinary research silos to facilitate interdisciplinary collaboration and education among young scholars and better respond to the vast and multifaceted challenges of climate change?

As humanity grapples with the ramifications of climate change and strives for equitable access to resources, the role of research is no longer simply the production of knowledge for knowledge's sake but the urgency to provide solutions to these upcoming challenges. With this aim, FERS School emerges as a catalyst for this purpose, poised to shape the transition to sustainability in the years to come, from science to decision-making and from decision-making to action.

Providing intensive two week-courses at the premises of the CEUB venue on the background of the amazing Italian lanscape, FERS School aims to equip participants with the knowledge and tools necessary for building a fertile ground for innovative research pathways and navigating the complexities of the impact of climate change. It offers a unique opportunity for early-career researchers to meet and collaborate with international experts and engaging in a dialogue that transcends existing academic boundaries and aims to forge lasting collaborations that extend in time and space beyond the program timeline.

This video presents the perspective of international participants from the thematic course based on Adaptation and sustainable risk management held on October 2022, as well as the dialogue it has facilitated between different disciplines. It shows how FERS aggregates an international community of motivated, open-minded participants who are eager to deepen the scientific foundation that is needed to address the most advanced challenges of the future, to cultivate the necessary systemic and multidisciplinary approach, to improve their ingenuity to identify solutions and drive change. Site visits, practical activities and seminars have been unique opportunities for young professionals, PhD students and post-docs to work together and share experiences.

Aquatic ecosystems play a crucial role in global well-being, providing essential services such as drinking and irrigation water, food, livelihoods, and recreational opportunities. However, these ecosystems are under threat from climate change and anthropogenic pressure, leading to a decline in their services. Armenian aquatic ecosystems, in particular, have a high vulnerability due to the dense population, lack of water treatment plants, and increased water demands from agriculture. These circumstances coupled with climate change increase negative impacts on local communities and the environment of Armenia. Urgent actions are required to establish sustainable aquatic ecosystem management practices. For this purpose, a comprehensive understanding and assessment of ecosystem services (ES) are necessary. Nevertheless, this task is complex given the diverse perspectives of various stakeholders involved in their valuation and management of aquatic ecosystems. To address these challenges, there is a critical need for the integration of knowledge from multiple disciplines and practical knowledge from local community members. Moreover, the traditional use of ES and local stakeholders' participation in decision-making processes are needed to facilitate the implementation of place-based strategies for sustainable aquatic ecosystem management.

In the frame of the EcoServ (Ecosystem Services Assessment through a Participatory Approach for Sustainable Water Resources Management in Armenia) project, we elaborate a participatory approach that is rooted in the inter- and transdisciplinary methodology where locals actively participate in research project co-design, co-implementation, systematic observations and evaluation to bridge this gap. Our contribution addresses three key research questions: 1) What participatory approaches are evident in scholarly literature for valuing aquatic ecosystem services? and 2) What are the challenges and benefits of engaging citizens in aquatic ecosystem services assessment? 3) How can these participatory approaches be applied to the Armenian context? Our study is based on a systematic literature review, based on which a conceptual framework and methodological approach for participatory approaches in the ES assessment of Armenian aquatic ecosystems is elaborated. The framework will be tested in the summer of 2024 on the EcoServ project case study areas comprising stakeholder workshops, teacher workshops, as well as transdisciplinary case studies with the students and university teachers from different disciplines together with local stakeholders.

This research contributes to the broader discourse on aquatic ecosystem management and services assessment with participatory approaches in the Armenian context. At the same time, it critically examines varying stakeholder perspectives on participation in project implementation and decision-making processes for sustainable governance of aquatic ecosystems.

Yes, the Berlin University Alliance has proven it: With a new concept we involved young people in the topic identification process for the next research fields of the Alliance (‘Next Grand Challenge’). The young people themselves were able to develop research topics that were relevant to them. The scientists present actively supported them as Coaches in specifying and formulating the topics. This allowed them to come up with future-oriented topics that really matter to young people.

In a joint process of participants from science and society, we were seeking to identify the topic for the Berlin University Alliance’s so called ‘Next Grand Challenge’. The selected topic will be researched by the BUA scholars and scientists in an inter- and transdisciplinary approach. We consciously relied on this open and innovative approach to topic identification and sought topics from the existing research priorities as well as from emerging and new fields of research. We were therefore particularly curious to find out which global issues are currently of most interest to young people, researchers, and students in Berlin.

More information at: bua-calling.de

Videos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-SrycDbF2w

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyG77HR0kvU

The research group transdisciplinary collaboration in education of Avans University of Applied Sciences gathered multiple interesting practices of educational programs including transdisciplinary collaborations. Researching in which the common pitfalls and successes of transdisciplinary collaborations become visible, as this type of projects generally start with enthusiastic individuals, often teachers, who face similar challenges (Tijsma, Urias, Zweekhorst, 2023). Through interesting transdisciplinary practices, the pioniers can gather inspiration and build upon lessons learned and already existing knowledge.

An interesting practice is the minor ‘take back the economy’ of Avans UAS, in which students are challenged to think about the current economic system and how this system could be transformed. In the minor, students from multiple disciplines are working together on a complex economic challenge, in which they are encouraged to work together with stakeholders outside academia. This complies with the definition of transdisciplinary education in which transdisciplinary education is defined by the integration of researchers from various disciplines with teachers, students, and non-academic participants who, in co-creation, gain insights, generate new knowledge, or produce products to achieve a common goal (OECD, 2020).

For the minor, students are working on a HELIO (Hybrid External Learning and Innovation Environment), which means that the place where they work, research, and learn, is located outside of the regular classrooms. The location of this case is De Kleine Aarde, a centre of sustainability where experiments with food sustainability, circular economy and soil health are conducted.

In the video, Lidwien Jacobs, one of the teachers and researchers in the minor, is talking about the learning outcomes of the students, the expectations, and the collaborations with external stakeholders on an external site outside of Avans UAS. Her story relates to the intangible, the development of transversal competences and the inner development that participants of a transdisciplinary project experience, and sometimes outweighs the final result the team members have come to. Through working on a wicked problem from different perspectives, both interdisciplinary and cross sectoral, people learn about their own expertise by the reflections of others and about the others' experience and expertise. These developments can be small – like the example in the video – but are truly essential for building new knowledge over the boarders of different domains, what transdisciplinarity ultimately about (Mokiy, 2019).

In the video, Lidwien Jacobs discusses her experience as a teacher in the transdisciplinary project, the attitudes she brought in to support the learning process of the students most effectively. The video thus also functions an interesting practice for other teachers in transdisciplinary projects.

References

Mokiy, V. S. (2019). International standard of transdisciplinary education and transdisciplinary competence. Informing Science, 22, 73.

OECD (2021), Embedding Values and Attitudes in Curriculum: Shaping a Better Future, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/aee2adcd-en

Tijsma, G., Urias E., & Zweekhorst M. (2023). Embedding engaged education through community service learning in HEI: a review. Educational Research, 65(2), 143-169.

Please watch the trailer of a documentary that was made by the Centre for Unusual Collaborations the Centre for Unusual Collaborations. It follows a group of diverse and very enthusiastic mid-career academics ( coming from TU/e, WUR, UU and UMC Utrecht) that collaborates around the topic of ‘porous materials’. They range from geologists, to art historians, to medical scientists, and beyond. Such unusual collaborations across disciplines support addressing complex societal challenges. They offer opportunity for academics to further explore their curiosity, by encountering other perspectives.

Despite their enthusiasm and the availability of funding, the group runs into a lack of recognition and reward for their ground-breaking work. And they learn that it takes a specific set skills to make their collaborative work meaningful and effective. The documentary ‘1+1=3’ takes you on a journey with this research team to explore barriers as well as ways to overcome them.

Watch the trailer here! Any questions about the Centre for Unusual Collaborations? Let us know!

If you would like to watch the full documentary please find it here

Patience and a step-by-step approach are essential for working with students in interdisciplinary and intercultural educational projects. Sounds easy, but how do you do it? In 2016 an intensive collaboration between Konkuk University in Seoul, South Korea and Fontys Academy of Creative Economy in Tilburg, the Netherlands started. One-time hackathons and workshops were set up, in which students from different disciplines (eg software - and computer engineering, communication, lifestyle, creativity & trend research) worked together in the Netherlands and South Korea to create digital social design concepts. The concepts focused on improving the quality of life of citizens addressed to the Sustainable Development Goals. Due to the corona pandemic, the physical educational environment was converted into an online educational environment in 2021. Since then stepwise and on ‘a learning-by-doing’ way an online semester programme Living Lab Good Life has been carried out. In this programme working closely together lead to mutual learning and practices, such as the very succesful weekly stand-up meeting between the participating lecturers. Besides, including the reflective principles of the action research methodology appreciative inquiry helped the students to obtain a more collective way of thinking and actions. In a short video (5 - 7 min) we will show our best practices regarding the design principles for an interdisciplinary educational programme and “our boundary-crossing” insights on how to work and learn in it from both lecturer and student perspective.

As various social and environmental problems become more serious and complex, research through collaboration and co-creation, in which researchers conduct research in collaboration with stakeholders in society, is attracting attention. However, many researchers are trained in disciplinary science and do not have much experience in carrying out research with researchers in different disciplines or societal stakeholders.

Research Institute for Humanity and Nature in Japan is a unique institute, which focuses on environmental research using inter- and trans-disciplinary research. From 2020-2023, I carried out a research project named ‘co-creation project’, which aimed at collecting and summarising knowledge of researchers engaged in TD research or participatory action research. Over 400 ideas of good practices were collected from 13 researchers (living and working in Asia), which were then summarised as 30 patterns of co-creation classified in 10 categories. After several iterations of workshops with experts, four overarching patterns were identified, which can be considered as key elements of co-creation.

As a result of this research, the ‘co-creation pattern’ cards and booklet have been developed, which are being used for education for graduate school students. In this presentation, I will describe the development process of ‘co-creation pattern’ and how it has been applied in education for inter- and trans-disciplinarity.

“If nature set our research strategy, would we do the same research?” It is this question that led a group of social and environmental researchers at New Zealand’s Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research, to develop an experiment in empathy with nature. In this contribution will examine how growing the capability of a research institution for seeing from the perspective of nature and its elements can help transcend disciplinary boundaries when planning the direction of research and how research is done.

In this contribution we describe and reflect on the experimental design and methods, and their value for building the empathy of participants with nature. In particular, we reflect on: the importance of the experiment’s setting, choosing and connecting with nature’s elements, and enabling the interaction of elements.

We conclude with reflections from participants on the experience and what this experiment might mean for shifting human-nature relations.

At Kiel University we strongly believe that in the light of today’s grand societal and ecological challenges universities are called upon to expand their commitment to inter- and transdisciplinary collaboration with content, adequate support formats, and resources.

With the innovative DenkRaum pilot, we have developed a new collaborative space for postdoctoral researchers. Despite the often-discussed risks, we believe that inter- and transdisciplinary training can be an effective tool to diversify the qualification of postdocs and thus improve their difficult situation within the academic system. Notwithstanding the legitimate concerns about the academic benefits of inter- and transdisciplinary work for early career researchers in a largely disciplinary academic environment, we have therefore set out to provide these training opportunities for them.

In the DenkRaum - which is also a physical space - excellent young researchers, who have to prove their capacity for teamwork in a selection process, work together as DenkRaum fellows for two years alongside their main academic work on societally relevant projects - currently on one of our key future topics "Energy in Changing Times and a Changing World". They cooperate closely with each other, exchange with other researchers and engage in a dialog with business, politics and society.

In my talk, I will describe how we developed the DenkRaum as a physical space and an innovative format for early career researchers from different disciplines who are open to an inter- and transdisciplinary team experiment. I will outline how previous experiences have led us to the rather complex design of the fellowships, to the way we find topics, select fellows, set up the physical space, and involve critical friends. I will give an impression of how the pandemic and a new university leadership influenced the first DenkRaum round. I will also share what we learned during this initial phase, and how we adapted procedures and roles to improve the DenkRaum experience for the fellows, and what ideas we have for the future.

We are convinced that the ability to work goal oriented in heterogeneous teams is an essential skill for academics, which will become even more important in the future.

The format, selection process and support structures of DenkRaum offer postdoctoral researchers the opportunity to deal with the challenges of inter- and transdisciplinary collaboration and to acquire the skills to master them. In addition, DenkRaum promotes the independence of early career researchers and supports networking beyond academia to open up career opportunities in other sectors.

The question of adequate relations between science and practice is a timeless issue. Transdisciplinary approaches to research have proven useful to overcome thinking in dichotomies and bridge the gap with methodological arrangements. Forces toward more practice-oriented conceptions of science in the 1990s led to the development of an elaborate research methodology beginning in the early 2000s. Nowadays, transdisciplinary methodology provides sophisticated methodical concepts, and mature research practices can be found in several fields. Still, transdisciplinary research is a niche program in science; its potential is not fully utilized, and it appears contested in some discourses. The proposed contribution focuses on transdisciplinary research in economic contexts, namely management and organization research. For many years now, the research-practice gap has been discussed in that field. A few contributions promote transdisciplinary approaches, but the concepts can hardly prevail against the warnings, particularly about the rigor-relevance gap. To promote transdisciplinarity in economy-near research, it is essential to understand the characteristics of the field and adapt transdisciplinary strategies to the specific environment. A literature review on practices of bridging the science-practice-gap in management and organization research and the reflection of empirical experiences in two transdisciplinary research projects with enterprises, one on inter-organizational cooperation and personnel development, the other on knowledge and technology transfer between science and companies, are the basis of the contribution. The following three dimensions are elaborated:

1. The systemic dimension: It considers the involved stakeholders and the specific system logic in economic contexts. Apart from enterprises and, eventually, political institutions and administrative bodies, intermediary institutions like economic promotion funds come into play. Consulting organizations (themselves enterprises or individual entrepreneurs) appear besides research. The field is strongly influenced by economic constraints like efficiency or competition, which in turn influences possibilities of cooperation between researchers and enterprises.

2. The methodological dimension: It considers the field-specific prerequisites in positioning transdisciplinary research with an overall research strategy and in implementing the different phases of research. The self-understanding of research and eventual differentiation between research and counseling are important issues to be reflected. Given the oversupply of various services, research has to assert itself among the many actors in the field, and the strong utility orientation in enterprises requires a particular understanding of co-creation and mutual learning. Consequently, in research practice, problem framing, knowledge generation, and transdisciplinary integration follow their own rules.

3. The institutional dimension and the issue of research culture: It considers the legitimation and reputation of transdisciplinary research practice, publishing, and teaching in business schools. While the many endeavors to raise the legitimation and reputation of transdisciplinary research projects are partly fruitful, the publication culture is still challenging, particularly in management and organization research where deductive thinking prevails. Transdisciplinarity in teaching faces the challenge of providing knowledge and competencies valuable in the professional fields and providing a solid basis for (a few) future researchers.

To sum up, transdisciplinary approaches have much potential for research in economic contexts, and the mature methodology, adapted to the specific field, could solve the theory-practice and rigor-relevance problem.

Many universities have the ambition to learn students to collaborate in interdisciplinary teams to prepare students for addressing wicked problems. Interdisciplinary collaboration crosses boundaries of disciplines to achieve common goals (Huibers et al., 2012). Four processes are involved in interdisciplinary collaboration (Boix Mansilla et al., 2010;2016): establishing common goals, value disciplinary knowledge present in the team, integrating relevant insights and remaining critical to different (and one's own) disciplines. These processes are not always observed in interdisciplinary student teams (Van Harmelen e.a, 2021). In order to improve interdisciplinary education it is important to gain insight in the collaboration process and what makes students work interdisciplinary.

In this study seven project teams of 6 to 8 third-year students working on a wicked problems, such as the design of a bottle disinfector, were followed during a semester. Students collaborated for the first time with students from at least two other disciplines, like health, arts, economics or engineering. Each team is guided by a tutor. To gain insight in the content and research-related knowledge they integrated, two sessions were conducted (in week 5 and 15). The team created a mindmap to illustrate the knowledge each discipline contributed to the issue and indicated the intersections where integration took place between disciplines. Next, students individually responded to statements that revealed how the team organized collaboration. Additional interviews were conducted with students and tutors with the central question: What caused/hindered the project group to start working together interdisciplinary?

Results showed that students from three teams started in subgroups with disciplines that are closely related. Within these subgroups interdisciplinary integration occurred, such as Mechatronics and Mechanical Engineering students collaborating on a technical solution. However, there was a lack of criticism between subgroups. Subgroups seemed to respect each other's expertise and took information from the other group for granted.

In only one team, integration took also place between disciplines that were further apart.

Two other teams realized with help of their tutor that interdisciplinary collaboration is also about integrating knowledge of research methodologies. These teams made eventually use of each other's expertise in research. In the last two teams, there was hardly any use of each other's expertise. They merged sub-tasks into a final product without cohesion.

Attention to interdisciplinary collaboration by the tutor or through structural feedback moments resulted in students’ awareness around their interdisciplinary competencies. It also proved helpful for interdisciplinary collaboration when groups adopted a common approach such as SCRUM or design thinking. Finally, the mindmap-activity used in the research sessions appeared to have given students insight into each other's expertise.

In conclusion, students working on wicked problems in interdisciplinary teams, did not automatically use each other's knowledge and research skills. It appeared to be important to guide students in interdisciplinary collaboration and doing learning activities focused on interdisciplinary collaboration. Furthermore, we advise to start with narrow interdisciplinary collaborations, as broad interdisciplinary collaborations seems to too difficult or to offer students more support in broad interdisciplinary collaborations.