Interdisciplinarity and research culture

The Communicators in Residence programme is our novel collaboration between the Institute of Infection and Imperial’s Science Communication Unit. Our second cohort of Communicators in Residence (2022-2023) explored interdisciplinarity and research culture.

• Meet three early-career researchers in the short video below, lifting the veil on interdisciplinary research in practice.
• Explore the interdisciplinary webs of four example projects that showcase the power of collaboration between diverse disciplines in infectious disease research
• Take the first steps towards forging your own interdisciplinary research path with our “Open for Conversation” printouts to get you talking to the right people without any extra time needed!

The Interdisciplinary web of infection research: Examples of collaborative working

From the life sciences to engineering and economics, Imperial’s expertise spans a huge range of subjects. Discover the ways diverse disciplines have come together in four example projects seeking to tackle some of the biggest problems in infectious disease research. These case studies illustrate how diverse expertise is brought together through collaboration and interdisciplinary work to find innovative solutions.

BINGO: Interdisciplinarity and research culture at Imperial

The Science Communicators in Residence team polled the research community about their thoughts on the role of interdisciplinarity in research culture at Imperial, hoping to gain insight into how the Institute can best encourage interdisciplinary work. The project provided a fascinating insight into differing perceptions by researchers at different career stages, and the various barriers to accessing opportunities to work across disciplines. Key findings indicated:

• Interdisciplinary research is perceived as being beneficial for career progression.
• More PhD students than postdocs stated that their research incorporates a significant amount of work from a different discipline.
• Barriers included:  1) not knowing how to get involved with interdisciplinary research (particularly for Masters and PhD students), 2) feeling too overwhelmed/busy to incorporate it (particularly for PhD and postdocs), and 3) interdisciplinarity not being included at the undergraduate level. 
• It would be beneficial to have opportunities to meet researchers from different disciplines

On the basis of these findings, the below 'Start the Conversation, see the Collaboration' was developed. 

Start the Conversation, see the Collaboration

By starting conversations with other researchers, we can unlock the power of diverse perspectives and expertise, helping to forge new pathways that transcend disciplinary boundaries. Strike up a conversation today by making use of our Open for Conversation printouts.

It’s simple:

1. Print out the PDF
2. Fill out the prompts. For an example see the pre-filled PDF below
3. Stick it where it can be seen! On your desk, on your door, make it visible
4. Get ready to answer any questions that come your way and find potential synergies

Download your own 'Open for interdisciplinary conversations' pdf here!

Contributions

The Institute of Infection's Communicators in Residence are students of Imperial College's MSc in Science Communication. The above Interdisciplinarity and Research Culture project is the second in this unique collaborative partnership that draws on the diverse skills of the students.