Description
International Transdisciplinarity ConferenceSession "Organizing Interdisciplinary Education: Insights from integration experts' experiences" (organizer)
With increased attention and efforts towards further integration of interdisciplinary educational methods in higher education curricula, it has become clear that designing and implementation of interdisciplinary education activities is challenging. Literature on this topic attributes this to problems of aligning and changing the institutional practices (such as university structures, disciplinary cultures and funding schemes).
This project aims to widen the problem analysis by looking beyond institutional level and by focusing on the more practical organisational difficulties.
The Interdisciplinary Education Program of Utrecht University facilitated 5 “incubators” in which new interdisciplinary education programmes within the university were developed. In each of these incubators, an “integration experts” (IEs) was assigned. The function and role of these "integration experts" were based on the call by Hoffmann et al. (2022). The goal of the IEs in these incubators was twofold: to assist and improve the process of designing and implementing interdisciplinary educational activities, and to gather insight into the organisational challenges and tensions that arise during this process. In this presentation, the contributors, who were also the IEs, reflect on their experiences and lessons learned.
Intervening in the current literature, the findings of the IEs in this project highlight three additional focus areas in addition to institutional tensions. First, teamwork tensions, which focus on group dynamics, decision making processes, and coordination and collaboration management. Second, the interdisciplinary knowledge base of all participants within or involved with these new programmes (staff, students, educational designers and university management), which affects educational organisation processes.
Third, uncertainty about demand for interdisciplinary education arises as a tension, as unclarity about the popularity of new courses hinders the commitment and makes formulating entry requirements difficult.
Additionally, the presenters will look at their own position as IEs within the incubators. The presenters will briefly discuss the activities and contributions they made, and the expertise and institutional support required for efficient and effective educational organisation processes. The IE-experience shows how the educational development context - i.e. the status of the project, team dynamics, as well as the institutional and team culture - both enhanced and limited the abilities of the IE.
We argue that organisers of interdisciplinary educational activities should pay more attention towards the three previously not highlighted areas, as they are frequently expected to ‘just happen’ while they prove to be a precondition for more efficient and effective educational organisation processes. An IE could play several roles in countering these issues: informing all involved actors on the merits, methodological approaches and possible applications of interdisciplinary education activities; or acting as a teamwork and collaboration coordinator.
| Period | 4 Nov 2024 → 8 Nov 2024 |
|---|---|
| Event type | Conference |
| Location | Utrecht, NetherlandsShow on map |