About us
What?
This toolkit has emerged from a four year EPSRC funded interdisciplinary project called ‘Solar Energy for Future Societies’ between Sheffield and Durham universities. The project involved an interdisciplinary team from Physics, Geography, Architecture and Engineering, exploring issues of energy futures with residents of a local town. The project was unique because part of its remit was to research the interdisciplinary process– how interdisiciplinarity occurred and how it could be encouraged. This toolkit brings together all of the various ways in which we think interdisciplinarity occurred within our project, and the means through which we encouraged it.
Who?
It is aimed at anyone involved in an interdisciplinary project wishing to learn more about interdisciplinarity and to encourage it amongst their team. Using a non-linear approach, it could be employed at the start of a project, or part way through, drawing upon what we consider to be the key aspects of interdisciplinarity.
How?
The toolkit is made up of a number of key themes of interdisciplinarity, determined by our experience. These are then broken down into a several bitesize chunks of information, guidance or exercises to promote that particular theme.
You?
The toolkit is limited – as it is only based on our one project experience. Therefore, please feel free to add your experience to the toolkit, making this something every interdisciplinary team can benefit from.
The authors
Alastair Buckley Principal Investigator, Physics & Astronomy, University of Sheffield
Prue Chiles, Co-investigator, Architecture, University of Sheffield
Nicky Gregson, Co-investigator, Geography, University of Durham
Helen Holmes, Project Ethnographer/Research Associate, Social Science, University of Sheffield
Anna Krzywoszynska, Research Associate, Geography, University of Durham
Jose Maywin, Research Associate, Physics & Astronomy, University of Sheffield
Matt Watson, Co-investigator, Geography, University of Sheffield