Skip to main content

Creating an Interdisciplinary Research Environment

When: —
Venue: Birkbeck 30 Russell Square

No booking required

The most complex economic challenges of our time such as ageing population, climate change, the effects of automation and globalisation result from interlinked scientific, technical, social and individual processes, a comprehensive understanding and addressing of which require interdisciplinary approaches. Besides addressing complex challenges, interdisciplinary research is also particularly likely to produce radically novel outcomes that create innovation opportunities. Policymakers advocate greater interdisciplinarity within academia, calling for more interdisciplinary research centres, for greater funding of interdisciplinary research, and for better ways to map and measure interdisciplinary engagement and outputs.

However, universities are historically not well equipped to support interdisciplinary research, and the incentive systems that underpin most academic activities including funding, evaluation, academic communication, publishing and career progression militate against it. Institutions that wish to encourage more interdisciplinarity need to implement adequate initiatives to support it. This workshop intends to bring together experts engaged in the practice, study and evaluation of interdisciplinary research, in order to uncover challenges and best practices in supporting interdisciplinarity within academia.

Tickets can be booked through Eventbrite

For more information please contact either Dr Federica Rossi (f.rossi@bbk.ac.uk) or Dr Luca Andriani (luca.andriani@bbk.ac.uk)

Workshop programme:

1:00 - 1:30 Sandwich lunch
1:30 - 1:45 Introduction, prof. Julian Swann, Pro-Vice Master for Research, Birkbeck
1:45 - 2:45 Panel 1: Running an
interdisciplinary research centre:
advantages and challenges
  • Catherine Griffiths, Programme and Research Development Manager, Birkbeck, and Birkbeck Institute for Data Analysis
  • Prof Susan Michie, Director, Centre for Behavioural Change, UCL
  • Prof Jacqueline Rose, Co-Director, Birkbeck Institute for the Humanities
  • Chair: Dr Luca Andriani (Centre for Political Economy and Institutional Studies)
2:45 - 3:45 Panel 2: What does good
interdisciplinary research look like? Views
from research evaluators
  • Dr Lisa Mooney, Pro-Vice Chancellor for Research and Knowledge Exchange, University of East London, and REF Interdisciplinary Research Advisory panel
  • Prof. Andrew Pettigrew, OBE, Birkbeck, University of London and University of Oxford
  • Dr Rachael Kiddey, Assistant editor, Independent Social Research Foundation
  • Chair: Dr Federica Rossi (Centre for Innovation Management Research)
3:45 - 4:00 Coffee break
4:00 - 5:00 Concluding session: Implications
for research centres
  • Dr Sappho Xenakis, Assistant Dean for Research, Birkbeck School of Law
  • Prof Alex Poulovassilis, Deputy Dean for Research Enhancement, Birkbeck School of Business, Economics and Informatics
  • Dr Peter Zusi, Director, FRINGE Centre, UCL