If you are familiar with transdisciplinary research organisations globally, you might notice that TD School is different in a few ways.

From a learning and teaching perspective, we are among the few who have single- and double-degree programs, a university-wide elective program and masters coursework programs. From a research perspective, we stand out because of how radically diverse the home disciplines of our academics are, as well as the creative methods by which we combine them. While many other transdisciplinary research organisations are based on environmental sciences or health sciences, TD School's foundations also include creative practices, human-centred design and innovation management, among other fields. This rich diversity creates a broader foundation for addressing a wider range of complex challenges.

As elaborated on in the OECD (2020) ‘Addressing societal challenges using transdisciplinary research’, there is a wide range of areas where transdisciplinary collaboration can apply. TD School is one of the world's largest concentrations of transdisciplinary research, education and practice. And, because transdisciplinarity does not exist without the disciplines, we frequently collaborate with others across the research sector. 

In the figure below, transdisciplinary research integrates disciplinary knowledge to address complex challenges (the green boxes in the figure). The complex challenge contexts that interest us are (the black boxes).

This image is a visualisation of four layers of TD research. Around the periphery are the 6 contexts in which we specialise. A secondary peripheral layer is more abstract in that they are all complex societal challenges that require integration of multiple areas of knowledge. At the centre is a matrix-like graphic where each column is a stage in the process, and each row is a characteristic of transdisciplinary research.

Figure: Stages and characteristics of transdisciplinary research projects across contexts

  • Sustainable societies – Enabling the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
  • Transformative learning – Unleashing the transformative potential of learning for individuals, organisations and society
  • Responsible technology – Technology can transform the way we live our lives – as much in positive as in negative ways – and redefine what it means to be human
  • Health and wellbeing – Understanding the social and technical system in which health and wellbeing is managed, including knowing which data and experts to trust
  • Multispecies societies – Humans or animal? Prey or predator? Domestic or wild? Native or introduced? How can we coexist with less conflict and more appreciation of each other’s benefits?
  • Innovation and change – Beyond new products and services, innovation includes new ideas, paradigms and methods that significantly change our productivity and our lives. 

Our research is characterised as being challenge-led, complexity-informed, future-focused, creative, integrative, collaborative, reflexive, adaptive, iterative and experimental and impact-driven (the blue boxes in the figure). The methods we use go beyond environmental and health sciences and are based on methodological research strengths, including creative practices. This unique approach makes our research distinctive in the field of transdisciplinary research.

A transdisciplinary research project and its timeline may interact with each of our methods and characteristics, as illustrated by the orange boxes in this figure.