"Partnering for change: Link research to societal challenges" is an accessible course designed for self-study or teaching, aiming to equip participants with the skills and insights necessary for effective transdisciplinary research.
In today’s world, we face many complex societal challenges. Projects addressing these challenges often involve actors and stakeholders from different fields and disciplines bringing together their own perspectives or knowledge on a topic. Accordingly, collaborative transdisciplinary approaches are crucial for the success of a project.
In this course, you will explore how to meet the challenges of conducting effective transdisciplinary research. You will gain insights into a variety of case studies from different fields as you learn from the experiences of peers and experts. You’ll investigate the principles, processes, and uses of transdisciplinary.
The course will explore questions such as:
- How can we address societal challenges with research?
- What complex problems can we think of that may only be solved if several actors find a solution together?
- How can we address complex issues?
The learning outcomes for this course include:
- Developing your research skills as you investigate how to co-produce knowledge for society and academia
- Reflecting transdisciplinarity – its principles, its research processes, and the context in which it is promising
- Applying transdisciplinary approaches to societally relevant questions
- Identifying guiding questions, phases, and steps of transdisciplinary projects
- Applying the principles and steps of transdisciplinary research to examples in order to reflect the implication for own projects
- Reflecting on the role of scientists and stakeholders in society and considering the ethical implications of co-production processes
This course is for students and researchers from all backgrounds as well as stakeholders involved in searching for solutions for complex societal challenges.
In addition, td-net offers free, tutored learning groups:
- 27 February 2024: 15:00-17:00 CEST
- 12 March 2024: 16:00-18:00 CEST
- 26 March 2024: 17:00-19:00 CEST
- 9 April 2024: 15:00-17:00 CEST
Participation in the learning group is voluntary and free of charge. td-net will also do its best to adapt the times to the participants' availability.
Register to join a learning group
Co-producing the course
A partnership brought together the Network for Transdisciplinary Research td-net, the Commission for Research Partnerships with Developing Countries, the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Swiss Universities of Basel, Bern and Geneva, Universities of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland and Luzern, ETH Zurich, University for Teacher Education Zug, to produce this Massive Open Online Course. The concept and its content were designed through intense co-production processes by experts of the above-mentioned institutes. The MOOC was also supported by Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).
Cover image by td-net.
