Learning for Transdisciplinary Collaborations at WUR

ELS colleagues Sarah de Vries (PhD transdisciplinary mixed classroom) and Carla Oonk (Boundary Crossing) offered a workshop on developing transdisciplinary professionals at the Transdisciplinary Research and Education Community day organised by WIMEK (the Wageningen Graduate School on Environmental and Climate Research).

Transdisciplinary learning, by means of crosspollination between academia and society, is key to Wageningen University education and research (see WUR Strategic Plan 2025-2028). Consequently, learning about HOW to do this requires full attention. The focus of this community day was to share knowledge and experience around inter-, transdisciplinary, and transformative approaches and practice related skills.

Based on various activating methods, Sarah and Carla discussed differences between mono-, multi- inter- and transdisciplinary approaches, presented the transdisciplinary mixed classroom PhD project of Sarah, and let the participants adopt boundary crossing learning mechanisms based on developing a definition for the abstract concept of ‘sustainable education’.

After a final journalling exercise, participants shared their ‘AHA insights’ referring to e.g. the importance of explicating your own disciplinary background at the start of an inter- or transdisciplinary assignment and the extra time that should be allocated for perspective exchanges in cross-boundary work.