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Workforce Development: Interdisciplinary Careers

Participants:

  • Dmitry Kondratyev (Purdue University)
  • Soumyashree Kar (UNC-Chapel Hill)
  • Chhaya Kulkarni (UMBC)
  • Tolulope Ale (UMBC)
  • Sara Khanjiani (UMBC)
  • Francisco Lacobelli (Loyola University)
  • Paea LePendu (UC Riverside)
  • Savannah Thais (Columbia)
  • Daniel Rubenstein (Princeton)
  • Josephine Namayanja (UMBC)

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Discussion Highlights

  • Defining Concepts
  • Workforce Development
    • Educational background and application of skills
    • Equipping students to explore problems in real-world applications
    • Ability to apply skills to different disciplines or domains
    • Reinforcing students necessary skills to learn what the market needs. (identify the ever-changing trends)
  • Interdisciplinary (vs. Multidisciplinary vs. Transdisciplinary)
    • Multidisciplinary: Different disciplines approach a problem using their unique perspectives. Helps broaden understanding of problems.
    • Interdisciplinary: Integration of multiple disciplinary perspectives to address a problem through a comprehensive lens.
    • Transdisciplinary: Applying (translating) the integrated perspectives to address problems that impact broader society.

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  • Examining the Role of Interdisciplinary Skills (Reflections)
  • Facilitate support for non-technical team members
  • Listening and understanding is instrumental
  • Importance of clearly defining terms and what that means in a multidisciplinary context

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Discussion Highlights

  • Characterizing Collaboration Across Disciplines in Data-Driven Research
  • Challenges
  • Lack of career pathways for interdisciplinary folks
  • Limited interdisciplinary resources e.g. appropriate publication venues
  • Finding the right fit on the job market (vs. having to choose between disciplines)
  • Discipline related “Language Barrier”
  • Territorial Disciplines (observed in large institutions vs. smaller institutions)
  • Conflicting and/or Competing Interests among disciplines
  • Concept of ‘Discipline Purists’ - fear of diluting vs. improving upon
  • Determining if an idea is interdisciplinary in the first place

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  • Benefits
  • Learning opportunities
  • Offers diverse approaches to solutions
  • Presents different interpretation of findings by different disciplines
  • Potential for greater/increased impact through collaboration

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Discussion Highlights

  • Mentorship and Education
  • Specialized graduate programs to promote interdisciplinary efforts (allowing students to take external courses)
  • Institution-wide bootcamps that engage a broader student body across disciplines
  • Opportunities for seed funding targeting interdisciplinary work
  • Dedicated working groups on different topics

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  • Strategies for Bridging Gaps in Communication among Diverse Research Backgrounds
  • Clearly defining terms and what that means from a multidisciplinary point of view
  • Identifying and engaging motivated individuals e.g. new faculty
  • Emphasize/showcase opportunities for improvement (solutions/approaches/methods) gained through collaboration

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