CONTEXT/BACKGROUND There is a strong need for 21st century education to be recalibrated to be able to address the complex problems of current and future times such as the climate crisis, migration, the shift to clean energy, block chain and growing inequalities. A radical new approach is required, and we believe that teaching a transdisciplinary approach will provide students with the right set of skills and competences needed to redefine and solve the 21st century wicked problems. Transdisciplinarity is a context and issue specific composition using scientific knowledge (including interdisciplinary knowledge), artistic knowledge and societal knowledge. Actors that are either excluded from conventional problem solving, or who merely appear as objects of research, will actively participate as equal research partners. Whereas traditional approaches are related to the transfer of (disciplinary) knowledge and interdisciplinary education aims for connecting knowledge, transdisciplinary education is about knowledge creation. Innovative elements include: the combination of Arts & Sciences (A&S), participatory approach, the use of imagination and the creation of knowledge of what could happen in the future, dissolving the strict boundaries between conventional disciplines and between Universities of Applied Sciences (Arts) & regular Universities (Sciences). OBJECTIVES AND INTELLECTUAL OUTPUTS Our objective is to design innovative, transdisciplinary education methods in which the imaginative and the transferrable, the sensory and the non-sensory, co-inhabit, collaborate and compose new perspectives and futures by using scientific knowledge, as well as visual and embodied experiences. The combination of arts and sciences will provide new forms of knowledge and solutions to complex problems in society. On the long term, we aim to contribute to a systemic transformation of higher education. The project will result in the following Intellectual Outputs (IOs): • Transdisciplinary Education Methods (IO1), to arrange the process of multi-stakeholder collaboration and to stimulate mutual understanding; • A Stakeholder Code of Conduct (IO2), in order to ensure non-hierarchical collaboration processes; • A Transdisciplinary Teacher Programme (IO3), developed to train teachers how to teach the new transdisciplinary approach; • A modular Transdisciplinary Student Programme (IO4), of 30 ECTS in total teaching a transdisciplinary approach in A&S. The consortium consists of 6 full partners and 1 associated partner which are selected because they all share interest, networks, knowledge and expertise in transdisciplinarity in A&S in education. ACTIVITIES We will organize seven Transnational Project Meetings, two Intensive Study Programmes (ISPs), and one Multiplier Event (ME) within this project: • The transnational meetings will be attended by representatives from al partners and will be used to discuss organizational, financial and content related issues. • In both ISPs (M10, M22), over 50 students from different disciplines and organizations will participate. Students will be selected based on their interest in the transdisciplinary approach, their background in A&S and their motivation to address societal issues. Teachers will be selected from partner organizations. Furthermore, societal stakeholders will be invited to join the ISPs as well. The ISPs are of great importance for testing discussing and further improving drafts of IO1 – IO4. • The ME will be the end conference and will be organized in Rotterdam. It will be used for the dissemination of the project outcomes, outputs and results to existing and new stakeholders. IMPACT The project will have a clear impact on different levels. These levels and the impacts are: • Student will acquire new skills and develop competences which will enable them to use a transdisciplinary project-based approach. They know how to set up and guide collaboration with a variety of societal stakeholders and are able to combine A&S. They will be able to decompose and recompose pressing issues which will help them to come up with innovative perspectives and approaches. It is expected that students are better prepared for their future in terms of employability. • Teaching staff learns how to implement the transdisciplinary approach in education and how to guide students and stakeholders in transdisciplinary processes. This requires specific skills and competences. SUSTAINABILITY The project results will be integrated in the existing curricula of the partners. The results will be made online available through the dedicated project website and will be actively promoted using the large networks of the partners. HEI throughout Europe will therefore be able to use the open and online available project results. The results can be adapted for different levels (e.g. high school students).
The main objective of RASL was to design innovative, transdisciplinary education methods using scientific knowledge, as well as visual and embodied experiences. Specific student competencies and skills were identified that enable transdisciplinary research, which encompasses much more than collaboration between disciplines. Especially combining arts and sciences (A&S) provided new forms of knowledge and approaches to complex problems on three levels: i) students acquired new skills and developed competencies that enabled them to use a transdisciplinary project-based approach, how to set up and guide collaboration with various stakeholders, and were able to combine A&S (IO4). ii) Teaching staff received training on developing and delivering a transdisciplinary approach in education, as well as guiding students and societal stakeholders in transdisciplinary processes. This training (IO3) provided specific skills and competencies, including traditional academic competencies such as gathering, developing, and sharing knowledge. iii) We asked several stakeholders to join the project as co-researchers and to critically evaluate the results of our Code of Conduct (IO2).
In order to solve current-day and future complex problems, it is necessary to combine different types of knowledge. This can be done using the concept of transdisciplinarity: the ability to create mutual understanding and synergies using scientific knowledge, artistic knowledge and societal knowledge. Traditional approaches are related to the transfer of (disciplinary) knowledge from one discipline to another and, while interdisciplinary education aims to connect different types of knowledge, transdisciplinary education aims to address the need of knowledge creation for so-called “wicked” problems. The biggest difference between conventional knowledge-creation and problem-solving lies in the fact that those actors belonging to other disciplines are no longer excluded or merely objects of research, but instead actively participate as equal research partners. Innovative elements of our specific approach include the combination of Arts & Sciences, participatory approach, the use of imagination and the creation of knowledge of what could happen in the future, dissolving strict boundaries between conventional disciplines and between Universities of Applied Sciences (Arts) & regular Universities (Sciences).