Importance of interdisciplinarity highlighted in Diesrede 2020
20 January 2020
At the Dies Natalis on January 8, rector magnificus Karen Maex openly asked herself: How do we keep up with the world? She mentioned several examples of major changes and challenges that we, as a society, face today, such as the climate and the energy transition. These themes raise new research questions, with the most obvious approach to these "major" challenges being the interdisciplinary approach, according to Maex.
Research questions are no longer limited to one discipline and therefore the renewal of research methods is an important point of attention, so that they can be applied surpassing boundaries of different subjects. The use of existing methods in an alternative context can also be very rewarding. The Institute for Interdisciplinary Studies (IIS) translates this development into education and also offers room to try out new ideas. For example, teachers can apply for an IIS grant to experiment with alternative forms of learning.
