THE Interdisciplinary Science Forum, Bridging Disciplinary Boundaries in Academic Science

Prof. Niels Taatgen went to the conference THE Interdisciplinary Science Forum.

He participated in the discussion on interdisciplinary leadership, "A new era of interdisciplinary leadership in science research", in which the participants also gave an introduction. He spoke on the various interdisciplinary collaborations he is active in (especially CogniGron, but also the AI programme and the Jantina Tammes School), what the challenges are (speaking each other's language, funding, perseverance to make it a real success), but also how great the outcomes can be.

CogniGron was invited to speak at the Science Forum event about bridging disciplinary boundaries in academic science as a valuable example of a multidisciplinary centre.

The session: A new era of interdisciplinary leadership in science research

To champion successful interdisciplinary researchers and bold scientific outputs that can contextualise the scale of current global challenges, more flexible yet unified top-down approaches are needed. These will help acknowledge the full socioeconomic – and ecological – impact of this work.

This interactive workshop will convene a group of experts to facilitate group discussions exploring how institutions can become beacons of inclusive and progressive leadership, by:

• Scoping out national and international funding opportunities to support interdisciplinary researchers
• Exploring what interdisciplinary leadership needs and how the sector can develop leaders of the future
• Debating the skills that future interdisciplinary scientists will demand
• Engaging with stakeholders in policy, business and civil society

More information about the event and the speakers.

More information about the event:

This one-day programme will address how they can foster interdisciplinary science research across the university and academic ecosystem and create more opportunities for researchers to advance their findings, secure investment and develop their careers. Through a series of panel discussions, interactive workshop sessions and fireside conversations, they will explore methods for demystifying, measuring and rewarding interdisciplinarity in the sciences. They will examine which universities and institutes are leading by example in terms of structuring research and career incentives around an interdisciplinary model, and how we are recognising robust leadership through an interdisciplinary lens. They will also assess how much impact such approaches can have on traditional STEM trajectories in equipping current and future cohorts to tackle increasingly complex problems.

In addition to the main programme, the forum will also feature numerous networking opportunities and a dinner.