Attracting & Anchoring Inter- and Transdisciplinary Collaboration
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Attracting & Anchoring Inter- and Transdisciplinary Collaboration
Published: 11 December 2024
On November 5, 2024, SLU’s Future Platforms hosted a workshop at the ITD24 conference in Utrecht, Netherlands, exploring how to foster inter- and transdisciplinary (ID/TD) collaboration. The workshop, aligned with one of the conference tracks Growing capacity for inter- and transdisciplinarity, had around 20 participants and focused on sharing ideas, challenges, and strategies for supporting ID/TD work in academia.
For the workshop an interactive dialogue was employed in line with the World Café method, using guided questions inspired by Kolb’s (2015) learning cycle, where participants circulated between tables to tackle those critical questions.
Key insights included:
Shaping Mandates: Effective ID/TD work thrives on institutional support, strategic planning, and accessible spaces for collaboration. Participants emphasized dynamic rather than static support, the integration of senior researchers for legitimacy, and educating decision-makers to advance ID/TD agendas.
Attracting & Motivating Researchers: Motivation stems from both external incentives, such as funding and career prospects, and intrinsic factors, like meaningful problem-solving. Participants highlighted the importance of shared narratives and active collaboration, while noting challenges like siloed funding streams and seniority-based barriers.
Introducing ID/TD: Timing varies by discipline, but early exposure to relational skills can benefit ID/TD work later in academic careers. While fostering specialist expertise remains important, systematic progression into ID/TD through interdisciplinary coursework and problem-based learning was seen as key.
Exploring Future Directions: Pilots and prototypes help test ID/TD strategies. Suggestions included using design thinking, creating "go-to" expertise roles, and fostering cultural shifts driven e.g. by student initiatives. Participants also highlighted the need for mapping approaches, strengthen regional partnerships, and leveraging successful practices.
The session provided a platform for sharing ideas, reflecting on challenges, and co-developing solutions to strengthen ID/TD research and education.
If you would like to know more, please visit this page, and/or contact the Future Platforms.
The ITD 24 conference was organised at the Railway Museum (Spoorwegmuseum) in Utrecht, the Netherlands. At the first plenary session; Prof. Dr. Iris van der Tuin - dean for Interdisciplinary Education, Utrecht University, Mieke Bal - a cultural theorist, critic, video artist, and curator; and Frédéric Darbellay - professor in Inter- and Transdisciplinary Studies at the University
of Geneva. Photo: Anna Maria Wremp
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SLU' Future Platforms hosted a workshop focusing on sharing ideas, challenges, and strategies for supporting ID/TD work in academia. Photo: Karin Jonsell
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Participants circulated between tables to tackle different questions from various angles. Photo: Anna Maria Wremp
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Nina Vogel presented the work of the Future Platforms at SLU. Photo: Karin Jonsell
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Presenting some of the platform's initiatives promoting inter- and transdisciplinary research and collaboration. Photo: Karin Jonsell
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Facts:
The ITD Alliance
The Global Alliance for Inter- and Transdisciplinarity (ITD) was founded in 2019, with a mission to strengthen and promote the global capacity of boundary-crossing research and practice. SLU Urban Futures was one of the founding members, and 2024 SLU arranged two workshops at the ITD24 conference, held in Utrecht on 4-8 November.
Kolb’s (2015) learning circle is a sequenced model representing different learning types, all based on experiential learning and highlighting the plurality of learning types and an iterative process of learning. This model inspired the final formulation of the four questions for the tables.
Kolb, D.A. (2015). Experiential Learning: Experience as the source of Learning and Development Second Edition, Pearson Education. ISBN: 978-0-13-389240-6
Nina Vogel, Programme Director of SLU Urban Futures and Researcher at SLU affiliated to the Governance and Management theme group at the Department of Landscape Architecture, Planning and Management, SLU Alnarp
