This is the Interdisciplinary Academy (IDA)

The IDA initiative aims to increase knowledge about and interest in interdisciplinary research work at SLU, strengthen the ability of SLU's researchers to address research issues from an interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary perspective and facilitate collaborations between different departments.

In IDA's thematic groups, consisting of researchers with different academic backgrounds, participants have the opportunity to allocate 20 percent of full time on complex issues and immerse themselves in interdisciplinary working methods. During the program, lasting for 8 months and starting in November each year, physical meetings are organized in Uppsala once a month with digital meetings in between. The Ullbo building on Campus Ultuna, next to the Knowledge Garden, is the creative environment and meeting place for the participants within IDA.

The application to IDA is made in groups around a theme that the group itself formulates in the application and which should be linked to complex issues in the area of green transition.

The work in the thematic groups can result in applications for larger projects or seed funding but does not need to do so. The important thing here is not about the goal, but about the journey – an opportunity for the participants to explore and develop their ability to work interdisciplinary without feeling any requirements for specific performance. The end result should be an increased understanding, level of knowledge and maturity among our researchers when it comes to interdisciplinary research.

IDA is led and coordinated by Marie Stenseke, professor of human geography at the University of Gothenburg and deputy dean at the School of Business, Economics and Law with many years of experience in interdisciplinary contexts. Read more about Marie Stenseke here.

Interdisciplinary Academy was initiated 2022 by SLU Future Food, one of SLU's four future platforms, all of which are tasked with promoting interdisciplinarity at the university.The initiative is co-funded by the NJ Faculty from 2022 until spring 2025, in line with the faculty's strategy, which states that the faculty will strengthen the ability to process research issues from an interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary perspective and facilitate collaborations between different departments.

From the fall 2025, IDA will be led and funded in collaboration between SLU Future Food and SLU Urban Futures.