Interdisciplinary Cooperation and Collaboration …
413
experience of others (Matthew and Rolls 2016; Leal Filho et al. 2017) show that it
can be problematic in practice.
Even in the absence of direct support from the university administration in the EUS
program proposal, the situation we have faced had considerable initial advantages:
• There was a manifest opportunity for change within a dynamic university environment;
• The university was moving forward with a commitment to sustainability, which
included incorporating these goals through its programs;
• An atmosphere of collaboration existed among individual faculty and academic
units—largely as a result of the experience collaborating in the graduate EnSciMan
program;
• The Department of Geography and Environmental Studies was seeking a means
to revitalize admissions;
• The adoption of the T-shaped curriculum model to guide program development; and,
• Rather than a need to focus on the identification of specific core competencies in
sustainable development and teaching to those, we were able to draw on a large
pool of existing courses and university-wide expertise to expand the framework
of understanding.
As Pearson et al. (2005) suggest, and we have found, “working across boundaries
will make things appear less tidy.” As personnel changes and institutional memory
lapses, as resources are more and more constricted, and as students tend to opt for
the more comfortable disciplinary home, the interdisciplinary nature of the program
continues to morph and adapt. Thus far, these challenges have not undone EUS
and, on balance, the program’s vitality remains strong. Nevertheless, as we have
attempted to do in this paper, critical review is necessary to maintain a healthy
vigilance where stewarding of similar interdisciplinary and cooperative programs is
concerned—programs like EUS are unlikely to run themselves if left unattended.
References
Altbach PG (1997) Student politics in America: a historical analysis. Transaction Publishers
Altbach PG, Reisberg L, Rumbley LE (2010) Trends in global higher education: tracking an academic revolution. UNESCO
Bacon CM, Mulvaney D, Ball TB, DuPuis EM, Gliessman SR, Lipschutz RD, Shakouri A (2011)
The creation of an integrated sustainability curriculum and student praxis projects. Int J Sustain
High Educ 12(2):193–208
Baerwald T (2010) Prospects for geography as an interdisciplinary discipline. Ann Assoc Am Geogr
100(3):493–501
Bardecki M (2015) Developing and managing integrated [interdisciplinary/transdisciplinary] graduate programs in environmental science and management in a collaborative context. In Leal
Filho W, Brandli WL, Kuznetsova O, do Paço AMF (eds) Integrative approaches to sustainable
development at university level. Springer, pp 197–209
413
experience of others (Matthew and Rolls 2016; Leal Filho et al. 2017) show that it
can be problematic in practice.
Even in the absence of direct support from the university administration in the EUS
program proposal, the situation we have faced had considerable initial advantages:
• There was a manifest opportunity for change within a dynamic university environment;
• The university was moving forward with a commitment to sustainability, which
included incorporating these goals through its programs;
• An atmosphere of collaboration existed among individual faculty and academic
units—largely as a result of the experience collaborating in the graduate EnSciMan
program;
• The Department of Geography and Environmental Studies was seeking a means
to revitalize admissions;
• The adoption of the T-shaped curriculum model to guide program development; and,
• Rather than a need to focus on the identification of specific core competencies in
sustainable development and teaching to those, we were able to draw on a large
pool of existing courses and university-wide expertise to expand the framework
of understanding.
As Pearson et al. (2005) suggest, and we have found, “working across boundaries
will make things appear less tidy.” As personnel changes and institutional memory
lapses, as resources are more and more constricted, and as students tend to opt for
the more comfortable disciplinary home, the interdisciplinary nature of the program
continues to morph and adapt. Thus far, these challenges have not undone EUS
and, on balance, the program’s vitality remains strong. Nevertheless, as we have
attempted to do in this paper, critical review is necessary to maintain a healthy
vigilance where stewarding of similar interdisciplinary and cooperative programs is
concerned—programs like EUS are unlikely to run themselves if left unattended.
References
Altbach PG (1997) Student politics in America: a historical analysis. Transaction Publishers
Altbach PG, Reisberg L, Rumbley LE (2010) Trends in global higher education: tracking an academic revolution. UNESCO
Bacon CM, Mulvaney D, Ball TB, DuPuis EM, Gliessman SR, Lipschutz RD, Shakouri A (2011)
The creation of an integrated sustainability curriculum and student praxis projects. Int J Sustain
High Educ 12(2):193–208
Baerwald T (2010) Prospects for geography as an interdisciplinary discipline. Ann Assoc Am Geogr
100(3):493–501
Bardecki M (2015) Developing and managing integrated [interdisciplinary/transdisciplinary] graduate programs in environmental science and management in a collaborative context. In Leal
Filho W, Brandli WL, Kuznetsova O, do Paço AMF (eds) Integrative approaches to sustainable
development at university level. Springer, pp 197–209