What is interdisciplinary education?
Several students explain interdisciplinary education as a ‘combination of’ or ‘collaboration between’ different disciplinary fields or researchers. Paula (26) aptly describes it as, “working on one topic, bringing in different perspectives and then finding solutions that you on your own wouldn't have come up with”. Indeed, interdisciplinary education is about integrating different ways of knowing with a sense of purpose. Mikkel (20) points out that “interdisciplinarity is a method in a way, not just knowledge”. Interdisciplinary education is not just a way of knowing together, but it is also much about learning by doing together. With interdisciplinarity, we often aim to produce an outcome of common interest.
Why is interdisciplinary education important?
In our ever-changing world, a range of challenges emerge that demand collective action from various fields. Maybe now more than ever before with efforts to transition towards sustainability, as highlighted by Ella (25). “I think that collaborating across disciplines is important to do throughout education because it becomes so important when you enter the work life. That is great to learn that at the university level”, she continues. Adriana emphasizes further that interaction with people from different disciplines enhances our empathy and understanding for different perspectives. Lukas (23) adds that “there’s some kind of democracy in having an interdisciplinary education, where you collaborate and develop ideas together”.
How can interdisciplinary education be practiced?
Most students we spoke to express their wish for more active and practice-based education. Olivia (26), Sophia (25), and Johanna (24) further emphasize how such experiential education can provide better understanding of theoretical perspectives, concepts, and methods. Sophia (25) suggests ‘moving’ the classroom out of traditional classroom setting to observe and interact with the real world, making knowledge more tangible. Both Adrianna (23) and Johanna (24) suggest reducing course sizes to provide more flexibility to choose elective courses from other disciplines. Lukas (23) underscores the need for an open-minded attitude from both teachers and students.
Certainly, to successfully implement interdisciplinarity, we must attain openness, humility, and respect for the various ways of understanding the world. The university is a melting pot of various disciplinary perspectives, skills, and capacities across numerous invaluable disciplines. It is therefore a unique place where interdisciplinary collaboration can be cultivated and, hopefully, contribute to a more interconnected and solution-oriented future.