Facilitating Interdisciplinary Research (2005) / Chapter Skim
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Appendix G Focus Groups on Facilitating Interdisciplinary Research
Appendix G Focus Groups on Facilitating Interdisciplinary Research
Pages 287-295
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. The focus was on the role that policies and practices related to training, education, evaluation, teambuilding, funding, hiring, and employment could play in facilitating IDR.
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Training and Education Should undergraduate students be encouraged to pursue an interdisciplinary degree? What policies can institutions adopt that would facilitate team teaching, curricular development, and cross-departmental course offerings?
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"As long as funding agencies say they want to solve large problems, we'll see communities come together" to do so. Models Promoting collaboration: A professor of chemistry and neurosciences at the University of Illinois Beckman Institute noted that "it's a physical space, with no funding, and people from many labs." They share space and equipment.
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Beyond departments: A professor in the Harvard Medical School Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology said, "I think universities could get rid of departments." She admitted that her view came out of her work in cancer research, which is highly interdisciplinary. Three effective procedures: A professor in the Harvard Department of Physics and Applied Physics recommended three procedures that he had found effective in promoting interdisciplinary work: · 24-hour retreats on campus for groups of faculty.
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Training and Education Following one's curiosity: Entelos,1 a private firm working in computer modeling of diseases, needs both mathematicians and engineers for its interdisciplinary work. It prefers to hire "a great person rather than someone who's already been trained in two disciplines." The chief scientist referred to her own experience as a graduate student, when she and her colleagues first attained a solid grounding in their field and then benefited by following their curiosity to work on problems in other departments.
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Flinging graduate students through the "gates of Hell": A professor at Thomas Jefferson University argued in favor of exposing engineers to biologic problems by putting them through biology courses at the same level as medical students. They would collect their own data and gain a realistic view of gathering data.
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. · Encourage graduate students to switch departments when doing postdoctoral work.
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SUMMARY OF FOCUS GROUP C DISCUSSION (MODERATOR, BRUCE ALBERTS, PRESIDENT, NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES) The discussion focused primarily on evaluation and funding mechanisms.
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· Create universitywide interdisciplinary research positions. Other issues: · When disciplines come together, they need to do so on an equal basis · Treat postdoctoral fellows as the glue between researchers who should be joint advisers.
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