A researcher residency in the spirit of interdisciplinarity

One of the key missions of the Future Platforms is to advance interdisciplinary approaches and methods within SLU by initiating and enabling collaboration across scientific boundaries. As part of this work, a research residency was organised for the third year in a row to support interdisciplinary skills development and provide a match-making opportunity.  
 
For two days at the end of August, thirteen SLU researchers travelled to the Philipssonska outside Strängnäs. The group consisted of senior and junior researchers from all four faculties, bringing different interests and expertise to the table - for example, animal and public health, microbiology, ecology, land use, plant health, and environmental and social economics. 

Interdisciplinarity – a skill in itself – and a process that takes time 

So how do we meet across disciplinary boundaries? There are no easy answers. But starting to communicate is essential if new ideas and innovative solutions are to emerge. And it requires training in this way of thinking and working.  
Over the two days, the focus was on discussion – listening as much as talking and sharing thoughts and experiences. Being open to new ideas, being patient and trusting the process were key components. It is not unusual to experience how difficult, confusing and even frustrating this can be. At least at first. That's the whole point – to practice conversations across and beyond disciplinary boundaries - and to realise that everyone benefits from being unpretentious. To realise that it's OK not to understand everything right away, and to ask questions in order to move the process forward together. Interdisciplinarity is a skill in itself and can be time-consuming but also creative, innovative and challenging.

Mike Jones of SLU's Centre for Biological Diversity started the first day with an inspiring lecture on systems thinking. Mike has been involved in biodiversity conservation for over fifty years and emphasises the importance of systems science in helping us understand how people and nature interact.  
 
“We can no longer think that people and nature work like machines or that people are exceptional to the rest of nature”, says Mike.

“Unlike lifeless, predictable machines, life is self-replicating, self-organising and endlessly surprising. If we really want to understand how ecosystems and landscapes work, we need to use the concepts of complex adaptive systems”, Mike says.

 
The big-picture perspective of systems thinking can provide a strategic overview that helps scientists develop research questions and practitioners identify a new future for their communities and livelihoods. Mike also pointed out the importance of changing the way we perceive the world and how we fit into it.

“Our future depends on changing the way we see the world and our place in it. We need systems thinking to bridge academic disciplines and bring science and society together in our efforts to adapt to climate change and biodiversity loss”, says Mike. 
 
“I was grateful to be invited to speak about something so important to me. I am encouraged by the attention that the Future Platforms are giving to systems thinking, creating opportunities for discussing new ways of research and teaching”.

Some reflections from the participants

We took the opportunity to ask four of the participants a few questions – about their thoughts and expectations for the research residency. The answers are from Monique Smith from the Department of Ecology, Pedro Guimares Naso from the Department of Economics, Bettina Müller from the Department of Molecular Sciences and Andrew Butler from the Department of Urban and Rural Development. 

Image description: (from left) Pedro Guimares Naso, Bettina Müller, Monique Smith and Andrew Butler chatted with each other during one of the coffee breaks.
 
Why did you apply for this research residency?

“Mostly to network with other researchers from SLU because we have so much expertise, but it can sometimes be difficult to reach out and start collaborations”, says Monique. 
 
“I wanted to get a first experience in discussing interdisciplinary projects and brainstorming interdisciplinary ideas. I had zero prior experience on these things and thought it would be difficult to start from scratch”, says Pedro. 
 
“Our research team has long been seeking solutions to society's major challenges, especially the dependence on fossil resources. To succeed, we need expertise and collaboration beyond the natural sciences. I hoped the research camp would provide networking opportunities and guidance in collaboration. In the long run, we want to establish interdisciplinary collaborations for new (funded) projects”, says Bettina. 
 
“I saw this as a great opportunity to meet fellow colleagues at SLU who were also interested in discussing and potentially engaging with interdisciplinary work. I also envisaged the researcher residency as a way for understanding how others engage with interdisciplinary work and get to know researchers outside of my sphere, in a more sociable context”, says Andrew.

Did you gain new insights into your research when meeting researchers from other disciplines?

“It was fantastic to see how my research fits into a broader context and see how other people interpret our research and expertise”, says Monique.  
 
“Sure! I gained new insights, but also, and most importantly, I realised that it is actually a difficult thing to do! Different disciplines have different goals and understandings – to be able to think about a common idea is challenging. I feel that now I have a bit more experience to start doing that”, says Pedro. 
 
“I particularly realised in our first group exercise the importance of networking to be able to accurately formulate my research questions in the form of a proposal. Having such a proposal ready will be crucial to further understand the complexity and establish interdisciplinary projects”, says Bettina. 
 
”I think the insights I gained related more to the challenges of working on interdisciplinary projects. It is clear that the benefits of engaging with diverse disciplines are huge, allowing multiple perspectives of an issue to be explored. However, it soon became clear that it takes time and energy to land on the same page and develop a common understanding of the issue at hand, and even more to address these issues”, says Andrew.  

What was most inspiring and why?

“It was fantastic to see interdisciplinary research in action in some of the exercises and to hear about other people's experiences because it was all new to me. It was very inspiring but also pushed me out of my comfort zone”, says Monique. 
 
“The most inspiring thing was to see how different researchers defined what they understood by the term 'health' differently. This happened during our group work. By looking at these perspectives, trying to build common ground was interesting”, says Pedro. 
 
“The atmosphere, combined with the opportunity to interact with scientists from other disciplines, was inspiring in itself: In such an environment, discussions flowed naturally, which allowed me to gain a better understanding of my own field of research and its interaction with other scientific fields and society at large”, says Bettina.  
 
“What was most inspiring was the realisation that everybody had a similar goal, albeit coming from different directions and focus; whether it be from the microbe level or across a regional landscape, we all want to make the world a better place”, says Andrew.

The research residency – one of several opportunities to meet and explore interdisciplinarity

“Once again, it was a fantastic collaboration between interdisciplinary researchers from all faculties at SLU! This research residency is an opportunity for us to create meaningful encounters – between people, thoughts, and disciplines - and it is very motivating to follow the progress and reflection. It is an opportunity to learn, not least to further develop our Future Platforms formats and to collaborate with colleagues from all campuses”, says Nina Vogel, program director for SLU Urban Futures. Three interdisciplinary project ideas have emerged and we are curious to see how the participants can take them forward and how we can support them”.  
 
“Our experience from the three research camps clearly shows the need for more expertise and support in the preparation process. For example, it is important to put together multidisciplinary teams and consortia before writing a proposal. This format can help to fulfil these needs”, says Susanna Sternberg Lewerin, program director from SLU Future One Health.  

Keep an eye out for more interdisciplinary events from the Future Platforms this autumn. To name a few (more details in the Facts box below);

• The One Health Breakfast Club (once a month),
• Focus on Forests: Interdisciplinary Workshop for Early Career Researchers (9 Sep),
• Eight months in IDA – Where did it take us? and SLU takes interdisciplinarity forward (17 Sep),
• Urban Forests: The impact of tree origin on urban biodiversity (26 Sep),
• Urban Health Webinar#2: Exploring Urban healthscapes with interdisciplinary experts and new perspectives (4 Oct),
• One Health Day (15 Oct),
• Getting our cities right#4: shaping our future urbanscapes (18-19 Nov),
• Interdisciplinarity in practice – processes for joint learning and exchange (19 Nov),
• Nordic perspectives on Soil Health - an exploratory interdisciplinary workshop (4 Dec).