Colloquia

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Presentation by Alejandro Espinosa-Rada (Department of Sociology at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile)

The presentation will be held on Monday, February 23, 2026

Location: Snijders room - M0.061 (Muntinggebouw)

Title: Multilayer Networks in Sustainability Science: Linking Global Challenges to Interdisciplinary Collaboration within a Research Center

Abstract: Understanding how interdisciplinary collaboration emerges is central to sustainability science, yet existing accounts often privilege formal research outputs over the informal social processes that underpin scientific work. This study examines the informal social networks of researchers within a national interdisciplinary sustainability science research centre that brings together scholars from the social and natural sciences to address climate-related challenges. We analyse how shared expertise, disciplinary distance, and affective social ties jointly shape patterns of interdisciplinary collaboration. The study combines survey-based relational data on informal communication and social relations with bibliometric information on scientific production, enabling a multilayer network analysis of collaboration and interaction. Our findings indicate that interdisciplinary collaboration is structured by informal communication and affective ties, alongside cognitive proximity, highlighting the enduring role of the invisible college in organising scientific activity. By empirically linking informal social relations to interdisciplinary collaboration, this study contributes to the sociology of science and sustainability research, demonstrating that scientific collaboration is embedded in everyday interaction, trust, and informal exchange rather than arising solely from shared expertise or institutional design.

Internal colloquia 2025 - 2026

During each colloquium, one of the research clusters will give an update on current research and present plans for future research. All internal colloquia take place at the Orangerie (G.026) in the Gadourek building followed by a joint lunch.

The colloquia are planed on: