A collaborative vision and pathways for transforming academia

What do we want academia to be like in 2050? Is academia on the right track? What will it take to agree on and realize a joint vision that can steer life in science towards a more sustainable and agreeable place to work, to learn, to share and to appreciate knowledge?

The issues raised here are based on a workshop with more than 40 participants at the International Transdisciplinarity Conference 2021. The discussion was initiated and hosted by the Careoperative, a leadership collective motivated to explore, embody and pollinate transformational sustainability and transdisciplinary research.

Join the discussion and read the full post here.

The knowing-doing gap

Despite that the #barriers that #ITDR centers are facing nowadays have been acknowledged more than 10 years ago, the lack of #policies and/or the absence of #effective #implementation have led to the #persistance of the barriers over time.

There is clearly a #knowing-#doing gap here, we know where to go and how. The question is: "Do we want to?"

Dear #TrUST #community, let's continue our good work and let’s all work harder to fill in the #gaps!

#TrUSTFindings: Road to better #ITDR practices

According to #literature, there are many ways for improving #ITDR practices, here are the suggestions:

•#Team-building activities

• Proper #interdisciplinary #indicators

• Tenure-track #dedicated positions

• More formal and informal #communication on ITDR

• Legitimization of ITDR

• #Female recruiting

• More involvement of humanities and social sciences

Out of all, the need for dedicated ITDR #trainings for #effective #collaborative #environment is essential.

Participants talk about #disciplines as #cultures, they manage different languages and so in order to do #ITD they need first to create a #sharedvocabulary, to #acknowledge different #strategies and #goals at the very beginning, to declare the personal point of view as well as the way of doing research.

As for #Transdisciplinarity, each researcher should instead “leave its past behind” and find together new and transformative ways of doing (#participatory) research.

#TrUSTFindings: Evaluation on effective #ITDR practices

Sharing some of our findings!

As far as what concerns the ways of doing ITD, our interviewees oscillate between focusing on relationship and tasks.

#Relationship-oriented: The #setting (how the space is organized) the #relationships (how #conflicts are managed between different #actors and #disciplines)

Here is an example of a setting and relationship #orientation, which sounds very #inspiring to us:

“(…) there is a #physical space, which in the same floor, it's a one floor in one of the teaching buildings, which has offices for postdocs to be sitting together. Even if they are from very different research centers, they will be sitting together and so improving their communication.”

It seems like a #safespace has been established, and is really #effective in improving the #ITDR practices!

Another approach which is #task-oriented:

Focusing on real #outcomes: questions were asked concerning the kind of #results that can only be achieved by doing #ITD #research.

“So in a sense, where we have a #shared #perspective, most of the results we have obtained need to be #multidisciplinary because they need to #communicate to a more #disciplinary based audience”

Regarding on what are the other variables are needed in order to #enhance #ITD, most of the #aspects, for instance, are #1: #fundings to facilitate the processes, #2 #policies to support the #transformation and #3 #education to mainstream #ITDR.

#TrUSTFindings: The role of #women in #ITDR

Some #funfacts, based on our studies, we discovered that although the differences in number are not a lot, the #predominant #gender in the #ITDR centers is still the gentleman.

According to our #literature #reviews, it is suggested that #women are more predisposed to engage in #inter/#transdisciplinary collaboration (Rhoten and Pfirman, 2007).

Within women prevails the desire to work with “#people” (Pinker, 2005), and the occupations that fit best with the ‘people’ could be considered ‘#problem-#oriented’ in their focus (Rhoten and Pfirman, 2007).

Now here's our question:

Are the #ITDR centers aware of the #benefits of

attracting #female #personnel? Comment below to share your thoughts!

#TrUSTFindings: ITDR Barriers

We are excited to share some sneak peeks of our findings with you, from our research and interviews with practitioners self-declaring interdisciplinary centres embedded in Universities, public administration, or being independent entities.

In this post, we will share about the ITDR barriers:

First #ITDR Barrier: #Communication

“Language, terminology and communication issues” (Bruce, 2004, Fam et al., 2020). As identified from the literature, it is not surprised that communication is one of the challenges due to the difference of #terminologies from each #disciplines.

Second #ITDR Barrier: #Structural

The #structural barrier encompasses the following: #financial, research #policies and #evaluation criteria, education, and also the most identified barrier by the respondents. “The #dominant structures within universities make it difficult to conduct #interdisciplinary research” (Golde & Gallagher, 1999, Langfeld and Scordato, 2016)

Third #ITDR Barrier: #Background

Many of our respondents do resonate with the hassles. “Involves people from #disparate backgrounds, it may take extra time and difficulties” (National Academy of Sciences, 2005, Van Rijnsoever and Hessels, 2011). But we do also believe that this is what makes the study even more interesting and fruitful!

Fourth #ITDR Barrier: #Fundings

Another perpetuate problem that every project faces: #fundings! However, it is even challenging for #ITD researches, as suggested by Cresco in 2008, “#Interdisciplinary #research is usually regarded as harder to #evaluate in terms of funding #proposals”.

Fifth #ITDR Barrier: #Time

We will also need to agree that we spend more time coordinating between different sectors, “Barriers to expanding beyond #traditional #disciplinary #research structures include extended #time requirements” (Morse, 2007)

Sixth #ITDR Barrier: #Individual #Inertia

Most people prefer to stay within the comfort zone. Moving forward to other factors beside those that stated in literature, many of our respondents also claimed that #individualinertia is one of the #ITDR barriers.

Seventh #ITDR barriers: #Needs and #discrepant activities of individuals

We could not deny that #ITDR is #challenging because of the needs and discrepant activities of individuals. As we involve more parties from different #disciplines, it is difficult to cater for everyone’s preference all at once.

“On the financial aspects, it’s very challenging because we are actually doing something which is quite unusual. (…) It was quite interesting from our environment, but also for our environment, so they not really understood what we are doing and why we are doing this. It has been a big challenge and it’s still a big challenge from the financial point of view because we are trying to sell our products or services and this is not really well understood by most of our clients, so it's always an education work as well.”

The #ITDR journey is never an easy one, but it is also never a boring one! Let’s talk more to continue to discover treasures along the journey!

Latest news: Exciting partnership with Non Architecture!

Exciting news! Our principal investigator, Giulia was invited to be one of the jurors for the Non Architecture Competition - ‘The Future Public Space’. This partnership is especially meaningful as TrUST is able to promote the inter/transdisciplinary approaches when it comes to urban design, and hence it meets the goals for the competition - Inclusive Public Spaces for all!

A little background about Non Architecture Competition: The Future Public Space is one of the Non Architecture “Living Together” competitions. Non Architecture Competitions aims to find unconventional and unexplored design solutions in the field of architecture. The second phase of competitions is structured in 9+1 themes: a Research Ecosystem with the purpose of exploring each theme from different perspectives. All competitions have their focus on tackling the big issues of tomorrow, by seeking nontraditional approaches in the architect’s work.

ITD - Get the terminology right

“The greatest good you can do another does not just share your riches, but to reveal him his own.” – Benjamin Franklin.

As promised, Giulia is sharing some of her take-home lessons from the #postdoc #academy for #transformational #leadership.

When talking about #interdisciplinarity , #transdisciplinarity , #multidisciplinarity, one can easily get confused. To avoid confusion, let's back to the basic, get the terminology right!

Call for papers! [Special issue on Transformative learning for Urban Sustainability: futures of transdisciplinary educational models, structures and tools ]

We are pleased to announce that our principal investigator, Giulia Sonetti and Bianca Vienni from ETH are guest editing for a special issue entitled “Transformative learning for Urban Sustainability: futures of transdisciplinary educational models, structures and tools”

The special issue will be published in Environment, Development and Sustainability (ed. by Springer, current Impact Factor 2.191). The submission deadline is the 31st March, 2021.

More details can be found here.

For further details on the submission process, please see the instructions for authors at the journal website. Full description of the call can be found here.

Theory-U is explicitly cited as a key enabling tool in the concept note of the call for paper. This would be an interesting opportunity to share your experience on the sustainability/transdisciplinary course with a wider audience!

If you wish to check if your manuscript fits for this Special Issue prior to submission, you are welcome to send a tentative title and abstract to us and you will receive feedback shortly. We looking forward to your submission!

Something exciting is brewing!

Something exciting is brewing, and we need to hear from you! :)

The TruST podcast is coming soon! This podcast series that will act as a safe space for this generative dialogue among stakeholders who are already engaged in collaborative approaches for sustainability education!

But before this, let us know what topics you'd like to listen more about it so we can curate the best content for all of you: https://forms.gle/VujTtrLKsVk8JTW4A

Stay tuned! : )

First seminar of Postdoc Academy for Transformational Leadership!

The Pandemic wouldn't stop us from learning, and sharing, and of course, for knowledge transfer! Here's a snapshot of our principal investigator, Giulia attending the first seminar of The #Postdoc #Academy for #Transformational #Leadership in Berlin, an initiative of the #RobertBoschStiftung and a joint project with the four academic centres:

Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin

Leuphana University of Lüneburg

Stockholm Resilience Centre

Dutch Research Institute for Transitions.

The cohort theme is about "#Landuse practices in a globalised world", and there are 20 other postdocs attending it virtually. "Very much in line with my personal interests about getting closer to the Earth.", said Giulia. We are glad to be part of the learning journey and looking forward to more of your sharing!

Latest news: Giulia and Antje have been awarded with a three years fellowship with the Postdoc Academy for Transformational Leadership !

Both our TrUST members Giulia Sonetti and Antje Disterheft have been awarded with a three years fellowship with the Postdoc Academy for Transformational Leadership! (Berlin, DE & multiple locations).

The Postdoc Academy for Transformational Leadership is designed to develop the next generation of leaders in sustainability and transformation research. It provides an intensive high-end training with four seminars in two years that broaden the research competencies of postdocs and promote their qualifications towards transdisciplinary leadership.

By participating in the program with integration of natural sciences, social sciences and humanities in sustainability research as well as accessing to a wider expert networks, we are anticipating the interesting insights from Giulia and Antje, that could bring to our #TrUST community. We also looking forward to take #TrUSTcollaboration to the next level, extending our impacts to a wider audiences! YOU GO GIRLS!

Latest news: Collaboration with Non-Architecture

#TrUST #LatestNews

Great news! TrUST is now collaborating with Non-Architecture scientific board, involving in the organisation of the (non) architectural program “Research Ecosystem”, where it consists a series of competitions, initiatives, and researches, dedicated to the re-invention of sustainability in a pandemic society, departing from the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Non Architecture Competitions aims to find unconventional and unexplored design solutions in the field of architecture. From 2016 to 2019, Non Architecture organized a series of 10 competitions pointed at reinventing functional architectural typologies. In 2020, they entered a new phase structured around nine themes. Non Architecture Competitions built a Research Ecosystem with the purpose of exploring each theme from different perspectives and multiple competitions. They will all have their focus on tackling the big issues of tomorrow, by seeking non-traditional approaches in the architect’s work.

Check out the interesting competitions they host at here.

Food for thoughts: Healing the collective trauma, restoring our relationship with the Earth

“Trauma is not just a personal experience. It is always embedded in a much wider chain of events and history. Examining our collective trauma is the way to tap into the evolutionary intelligence of humanity.”--THOMAS HÜBL

In today's closing session of the Collective Trauma Summit, the theme is Climate Crisis: Restoring Our Relationship to the Earth. They are going to examine how collective trauma limits humanity's ability to respond to the climate crisis and explore how we can renew our connection with the Earth and all of life.

Perhaps. it might not be the first thought to perceive humanity's relationship with the Earth and climate change, but perhaps it provides a new perspective for us to think about, how could we restore our relationship with the Earth? Is healing the collective trauma, and improving the #collective #consciousness the key to the solutions?

Thoughts are welcomed!

Food for thoughts: Recap on the 'Theory U' model

Since we are attending u.lab: Leading From the Emerging Future course, we thought it’s a good idea to share and have a recap on the ‘Theory U’ model where our TrUST community might have learnt about! (See here)

Theory U is a change management method introduced by Otto Scharmer. The principles of Theory U are suggested to help political leaders, civil servants, and managers breakthrough past unproductive patterns of behavior that prevent them from empathizing with their clients' perspectives and often lock them into ineffective patterns of decision making.

Theory U pays attention to different fields and levels: Thinking (individual), Conversing (group), Structuring (institutions) and Ecosystem coordination (global systems).

Otto Scharmer expresses it as a process or journey, which is also described as Presencing. At the core of the "U" theory is presencing: sensing + presence. According to The Learning Exchange, Presencing is a journey with five movements:

"We move down one side of the U (connecting us to the world that is outside of our institutional bubble) to the bottom of the U (connecting us to the world that emerges from within) and up the other side of the U (bringing forth the new into the world)."

On that journey, at the bottom of the U, lies an inner gate that requires us to drop everything that isn't essential. This process of letting-go (of our old ego and self) and letting-come (our highest future possibility: our Self) establishes a subtle connection to a deeper source of knowing.

The essence of presencing is that these two selves - our current self and our best future Self - meet at the bottom of the U and begin to listen and resonate with each other.

Once a group crosses this threshold, nothing remains the same. Individual members and the group as a whole begin to operate with a heightened level of energy and sense of future possibility. Often they then begin to function as an intentional vehicle for an emerging future.

Does that sound interesting for your organization to practice it? Find more of the details here. We appreciate the Theory U model a lot and hope it could benefit more individuals and organizations out there!

Reflections on the Education for Sustainable Development course: Emotion is the key

#ThrowbackThursday

On March, our principal investigator Giulia attended the Earth Charter Online Certificate on ESD. The unique programme is designed to provide participants with the understanding, knowledge, and skills to integrate Education for Sustainable Development and Education for Global Citizenship into classrooms, schools, and curricula with depth and creativity.

Here, she has something interesting to share with you!

Some of us might not have noticed, but our emotions do play a key role in transformative learning! If you haven't thought of it before, let's pay more attention to our emotions starting from today, and see how it unfold the potentials and surprise elements in your education life!

#Trustcollaboration #transformative #learning #education #transition #emotions

Latest news: TrUST is now collaborating with CENSE

#TrUST #LatestNews:

We are delighted to share this piece of good news with all of you! TrUST is now collaborating with #CENSE!

CENSE (Center for Environmental and Sustainability Research) is based in Lisbon, Portugal. The center promotes interdisciplinary research in environmental sciences and engineering, focusing on the interaction between human and ecological systems, to promote sustainable development.

Their five main research areas included Ecological Economics and Environmental Management, Energy and Climate, Computation for Sustainability, Bioresources and Green Technologies, and Sustainable Water Sanitation, Wastes and Resources Recovery.

We are really excited in exploring together on transformative learning and sustainability education in this interdisciplinary realm!

We are back!

Hello everyone! Summer is over, and we are back!

We hope everyone is staying safe and healthy amidst the pandemic, and continue exploring new possibilities in the new normal.

Though physically apart, we are all in this together! 💪

Don’t forget to keep #TrUST in mind, keep exchanging, keep sharing!

Academia in the time of Covid-19: Our chance to develop an ethics of care.

#Academia in the time of #Covid19: Our chance to develop an #ethics of #care. We share and invite to sign the following manifesto by Esteve Corbera.

"This crisis has made it clear that we must deepen our care for others, becoming more attentive to the emotions and life experiences of our students, PhD candidates, co-authors, and colleagues." We welcome ongoing efforts to slow down the pace of academia, prioritize importance over urgency, collective rather than individual goals, and contribute to public debates not necessarily in the form of academic articles but through our teaching or public outreach (e.g. blogs, TV and radio appearances, student-led debates, etc.). Also, career and evaluation expectations must change. Covid-19 can and should lead us to prioritize those areas and tasks where we can really make a difference, which may involve writing less but better, and engaging more seriously with knowledge transfer and policy change activities. When the Covid-19 crisis fades away, which it will, we have a chance to make academia a more ethical, empathetic, and thus rewarding profession. Sign the Manifesto here: http://estevecorbera.com/academia-in-the-time-of-covid-19-our-chance-to-develop-an-ethics-of-care/?fbclid=IwAR0DcuwO7iylW6cc71C78n39ZxZCk2g-oa_5B4EkR31svCGaYF6cp0t4QRE

TrUST Unconference

Celebrating the success of our TruST Unconference, that took place on 17th and 18th February in the beautiful UNESCO Heritage site of the Valentino Castle in Turin, Italy! The focus of the Unconference was the "Education for urban sustainability” challenge. During the 2 days, we had explored a different kind of inter/transdisciplinary (ITD) educational tools and approaches that can support and improve sustainability education in the realm of urban transitions. Here are some of the highlights on the event:

Kickstarting our #Unconference with Theory U by our principal investigator Giulia Sonetti and welcome speech by Carlo Sessa from Shape-ID.

The opening plenary sessions are truly insightful and gave various fresh perspectives to ITD education tools! Thanks to all our speakers that introduced ITD education tools at different levels:

• Jo Ferreirra: Pedagogies & systems change in higher education curricula

• Julie Davis: Interdisciplinary Early Childhood Education for Sustainability

• Maria Alvarez: Liberating pedagogy: Learning inside of complexity and uncertainty

The fun times begin - ice-breaking exercises led by Valerie Adolff, all our participants are sharing their favorite urban spaces! Look at the happy faces while they are showcasing their drawings! Followed by the first writing session on ITD Educational practices.

On the other side there’s a parallel world cafe session going on, which open for public participation as well!

Interesting after lunch activities - Our experts were gathering around to review the world cafe posters and giving feedbacks which struck meaningful discussions!

Before diving into the next writing session on barriers encountered in ITD work in Education ,our participants were engaged in the awareness training sessions - and this is how active listening looks like! How beautiful!

We ended the day 1 of Unconference with the 3rd writing session: Triggers of ITD Education followed by a fruitful discussion.

Rise and shine! We acknowledged the importance of mindfulness and begin our day 2 of Unconference with presencing exercise led by Valerie Adolff!

Day 2 begins with exciting writing sessions on mission statements! The experts were co-designing mission statements for researches! Here’s the mission statements they have co-created:

Mission #1: Universities serving as sustainable communities

Mission #2: Empower a community of change to re-orient higher education institutions towards sustainability

Mission #3: Enable just and resilient communities

Consolidated our experts’ thoughts and ideas towards the end with these amazing sketches done by Caterina Barioglio. It was a fruitful wrap-up session indeed!

Ending it with some sweet notes! Thanks to our incredible speakers on their inspiring and thought-provoking speeches!

• Ruth Forster: Transformative teaching in HIgher Education for Sustainable Developmement: facing the challenges

• Marta Varanda & Olivia Bina: Intrepid Knowledge for the Present and Future of Universities

• Nikki Brand: Creating the infrastructure for ITD research and education

It’s a wrap! Thank you, everyone, for joining us and contributing to our learning journey. It’s been wonderful and we are so happy to have you in our #TrUST family. Once again thanks to our host, Giulia Sonetti and #ShapeID_EU for making this happen! Please find here the link to the presentation with the doodling of the days and the background info. Thanks to our keynotes, you may also find their presentations here!