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Call for applications to SLU's Interdisciplinary Academy (IDA) 2024-2025

Published: 05 March 2024

The Interdisciplinary Academy (IDA) is a programme where SLU researchers are offered the opportunity to collaborate across disciplinary boundaries on complex issues in the broad field of green transformation.

The third call for applications to SLU's Interdisciplinary Academy (IDA) is now open.

The call welcomes groups of researchers (a maximum of 6 researchers/group) who are employed at SLU, regardless of faculty affiliation or subject specialisation, to submit proposals for themes that consist of questions about a scientific problem area of a complex nature and that need a cross-disciplinary approach to be managed and develop solutions. For example, a theme may concern sustainable land and water use; animal husbandry and its relationship with humans; land for forestry, food production, carbon sequestration, or biodiversity; global food security or digitalization for the green transition on an increasingly urbanized planet. The theme can be focused on scientific challenges in Sweden or other parts of the world.

In this call, a maximum of 1 group is granted. The group that is awarded the grant develops the theme's questions together for eight months (1 November 2024-30 June 2025). IDA's program manager Marie Stenseke will offer support and inspiration to the groups during the project period.

The project period ends with a forward-looking activity with an emphasis on future questions and continued research in the field.

The last day to apply to IDA 2024-2025 is May 22nd, 2024.

Read more about the call and how to apply here

Read more about the Interdisciplinary Academy (IDA) here

Information and match making events 

On 6 March och 17 April SLU Future Food will arrange lunch webinars with more information about IDA 3 (2024-2025), an opportunity to meet other interested researchers to form groups and to ask questions.

Other important dates

  • 22 May: Last day for application to IDA 3 (2024-2025)
  • 19 June: Official decision from the selection group to be announced
  • 28 Aug: Closing ceremony for IDA 2 (2023-2024) and open workshop at SLU
  • 1 Nov: Start for IDA 3 (2024-2025)
  • 13-14 Nov: First physical meeting for IDA 3 thematic group 
  • 30 June 2025: End of project period for IDA 3 (2024-2025) 
  • Beginning of fall semester 2024: Closing ceremony for IDA 3 (2024-2025) and open workshop at SLU 

Facts:

The Interdisciplinary Academy (IDA) at SLU was established 2022 and is run as a project by the NJ Faculty and SLU Future Food with the aim of building a long-term organisation for the development of cross-disciplinary research at SLU. Inspiration has been drawn from the Pufendorf Institute at Lund University and experience has also been drawn from the Futures Lab at SLU. The hope is that the programme will lead to increasing knowledge of, and interest in, cross-disciplinary research work, strengthen the ability to process research questions from a cross-disciplinary perspective, and facilitate cross-disciplinary research collaborations between different departments at SLU. The future development of IDA is managed in dialogue with SLU's other future platforms. To date, four IDA groups have been granted.

The NJ Faculty's strategy for 2021–2025 states that cross-disciplinary approaches should be part of the work to contribute to the transition to a sustainable society. The strategy states that the faculty will "strengthen the ability to process research questions from a cross-disciplinary perspective" and "facilitate cross-disciplinary research collaborations between different departments ".

SLU Future Food is a platform that stimulates and develops cross-disciplinary research and collaborations for economically, ecologically and socially sustainable food systems.

Aggregated information about IDA.

SLU's future platforms and interdisciplinarity.

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