Interdisciplinary learning and research

Find out how to work across multiple academic disciplines in higher education, in order to pool expertise and develop novel skillsets and solutions to complex problems. These guides offer insight on how to break down disciplinary boundaries in university teaching and research to seek greater understanding.

By Eliza.Compton , 5 November, 2026

Campus Talks: How interdisciplinary research can benefit early career academics

Philippe Blaettchen from Singapore Management University for Campus Talks podcast episode

An award-winning early career researcher offers ways to navigate publishing, funding, geography and methodologies outside your discipline, and why junior academics should be ambitious

Reading time

30minutes

By Eliza.Compton , 2 November, 2026

How universities can help students translate their skills for employers

Young Asian female graduate in job interview

A shared language for skills can help students identify the transferable capabilities they are accruing in their studies and present their relevant experiences confidently to employers

Reading time

5minutes

By Tony.Sablan , 30 October, 2026

Collaboration is not optional – and conservation science shows why

Three researchers in casual clothing at a lake take water sample

Today’s research challenges are too complex to be solved in isolation. Conservation science offers lessons for academics everywhere about how to build collaborations that genuinely work

Reading time

4minutes

By Eliza.Compton , 29 October, 2026

How funding processes can support more sustainable research practices

Man typing at laptop with sustainability symbols surrounding it

Universities could embed and improve sustainability throughout the research cycle, including funding requirements, guidance and policy. Here is how one project aimed to use funding as a driver of change

Reading time

5minutes

By kiera.obrien , 29 October, 2026

The key to effective interdisciplinary research

How to make interdisciplinary research work well, with advice for early career academics, research managers and institutional leaders

By kiera.obrien , 27 October, 2026

Everyone loves interdisciplinary research, but no one wants to fund it

Higher education talks a lot about interdisciplinary research, but finding funding is still an uphill struggle. Lindell Bromham offers a solution

Reading time

4minutes

By Eliza.Compton , 24 October, 2026

The best interdisciplinary research begins long before the first experiment

Investment in relationships, humility and shared purpose creates the conditions where breakthrough science can flourish, argues Jacob Barney

Reading time

4minutes

By Eliza.Compton , 9 October, 2026

Where the Nile’s waters meet: creating value through interdisciplinarity and collaboration

Effective interdisciplinary collaboration hinges on four principles: focusing on the problem, understanding how disciplines interact, fostering relationships and recognising power dynamics, writes Ben Kei Daniel

Reading time

3minutes

By Eliza.Compton , 28 September, 2026

What the movement to integrate the arts and health can teach us about making research matter

Musician Jon Batiste at the launch of Jameel Arts & Health Lab-Lancet Global Collection on Arts & Health in New York City

Moving research into action requires more than publishing evidence. Stories, images, trusted messengers and examples of uptake can build public acceptance, shift what people see as possible and help evidence become practice and policy

Reading time

4minutes

By Laura.Duckett , 24 September, 2026

How to build a sustainable digital humanities ecosystem

Research staff in a library working on a digital huimanities project

Digital humanities is about more than adopting new technologies. It depends on bringing people, expertise and ideas together – and creating the structures to help them thrive, says Mara Oliva

Reading time

5minutes

Interdisciplinary learning and research