Interdisciplinary education has emerged as a valuable approach to foster holistic learning and to address complex challenges by integrating knowledge and perspectives from multiple disciplines. Moreover, it is acknowledged that education based on authentic open-ended challenges motivates students. Since 2019, the elective project ‘Bio-Tech-Med-Nutrition Interdisciplinary Team Training’ (BITT), takes place within the Alliance EWUU. The course aims to help students to develop their

interdisciplinary competences by cross-boundary (research) collaboration within the health domain.

Interdisciplinary groups consisting of 4-6 students are introduced to a real-life disease-related problem by a patient and physician. The students are challenged to collaborate in to identify an aspect associated with the clinical problem or the quality of life of the patient, which they target in their project. The final deliverable can range from a proposal to address their target or a prototype of a product. The main goal of the BITT-project is that students experience the various steps in interdisciplinary collaboration and are able to reflect on their individual disciplines, in order to equip them with the interdisciplinary skills needed to address the world’s complex problems as a professional.

The course started with 18 students working on three patient related challenges guided by three tutors and two institutes. Over the past five years, it has expanded to around 100 students working on approximately ten different challenges guided by 10-20 tutors and four different institutes. During this expansion and the fact that we changed from elective to mandatory education, we have experienced several hurdles.

During the presentation at the ITD conference 2024, we intend to exchange experiences and thoughts with other educators. The following points will be open for discussion:

1) Upscaling of interdisciplinary challenge-based learning

2) The recruitment, support, and training of tutors in interdisciplinary challenge-based learning

3) Finding appropriate challenges

4) Creation of common ground, assuring all students can contribute equally

5) Financial issues in interdisciplinary challenge-based learning

6) Best practices & challenges within the BITT project

7) Running a project with several institutes, each with a different organization and distinct planning of their regular education.

Introduction

There is increasing acknowledgement of the need for university students to develop knowledge and skills to work on societal and global problems that traditional disciplinary frameworks cannot effectively address (e.g., Biberhofer & Rammel, 2017). One response to this need is to stimulate the development of innovative inter- and transdisciplinary courses, which have challenges of their own. Understanding these challenges and the factors that support the success of interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary educational innovation in the Netherlands can inform strategy for higher education policy, both locally and nationally, as Dutch universities make the transition to forms of education that prepare students for addressing the wicked problems of the 21st century.

Method

First, a literature overview including challenges and successes of inter- and transdisciplinary education was created. Themes were student perceptions, faculty perceptions, institutional embedding, and broader collaboration within and outside of the educational institutes. Secondly, the relevance of these themes where evaluated in a qualitative survey distributed among stakeholders (e.g., students, course designers and coordinators, and educational leaders) for inter- or transdisciplinary education at Dutch higher education institutes and associate societal partners. In addition, participants were asked to provide solutions for the challenges that they identified. In total, 41 surveys were completed, of which the majority were (among others) teaching inter- and/or transdisciplinary education.

Results

Of all survey participants, 31 participants reported on the challenges they identified, which were in subsequent order of frequency:

1. There is no financial embedding, making interdisciplinary/ transdisciplinary education financially unviable or unstable (67.7%).

2. There is no stability in staff who are assigned to the courses and will continue participation (54,8%).

3. The collaboration between programs and departments within higher education institutes is lacking or too difficult to set-up or maintain (48,4%).

4. Staff lacks the knowledge and skills to engage in interdisciplinary/ transdisciplinary education (48,4%).

5. The collaboration between higher education institutes and external partners is lacking or too difficult to set-up or maintain (35.5%).

6. Lecturers and program directors don't see the value of interdisciplinary/ transdisciplinary education, or don't want to spend money on it (29,0%).

7. Students don't see the value for their professional and career development (19,4%).

Solutions lie according to the participants in expectation management and training and supporting staff in their inter- and transdisciplinary teaching skills development.

Conclusion and discussion

University staff recognize many of the challenges presented in the literature and their suggestions are translated into concrete advice to support the long-term viability of inter- and transdisciplinary courses. For universities, this could result in a better return on investment as development costs are high. The benefits for students include lasting inter- and transdisciplinary education, which will support them in their professional development. The next step is to add in-depth interviews with stakeholders to make the advice even more concrete and usable for other universities as well.

Reference

Biberhofer, P. and Rammel, C. (2017). Transdisciplinary learning and teaching as answers to urban sustainability challenges. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education 18(1): 63-83, doi: 10.1108/IJSHE-04-2015-0078.

The London Interdisciplinary School (LIS) was founded to offer new models of learning that focus on the teaching and combination of diverse disciplines and methods, to further capabilities to tackle complex problems. Alongside “BASc” (Bachelor’s in Arts and Sciences) and “MASc” (Master’s in Arts and Sciences) degrees, LIS has been engaged in developing short courses for professional learners. The first of these, now called Cross-Functional Leadership, came about through a partnership with the Leadership Academies of the U.K. National Health Service (NHS), and was created to prepare professional managers and clinicians working on increasing integration across domains of Health and Social Care. The Cross-Functional Leadership course has since developed into an open-cohort programme with participants in management roles across the private, public and third sectors.

A key intention of the course design is to introduce theoretical concepts that can support more integrated working, in practical ways that are accessible and usable for professional actors in the course of fast-paced daily work. Feedback from participants has highlighted the hunger for ways to manage the conceptual and epistemological challenges that come with contemporary knowledge work that is inherently inter- and transdisciplinary, yet rarely recognised as such.

This session would offer an overview and taster of the content of the course and invite critical academic scrutiny and shared learning. This session speaks directly to the theme of growing capacity for inter- and transdisciplinarity, by illustrating what this capacity-building can look like and creating a space for inter- and transdisciplinary academics to discuss our special role in educating knowledge actors working outside of universities.