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Unlocking Innovation: Building Collaborative Interdisciplinary Learning Spaces

Caro van den Berg and Belinda Verster

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Background

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  • The realities of pressing urban socio-eco-environmental challenges in marginalised communities

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  • Complexities in Higher Education such as the call for ‘Education for Sustainable Development

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  • Our Response:
  • An inter/transdisciplinary RESEARCH and STUDENT project between IS (UWC) and Urban Planning (CPUT)

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Smart and Sustainable

Society 5.0

Education for Sustainable Development

Local Lived Knowledge

Digital Social Innovation

SDGs

Collaborative Partnerships

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Prototypes

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Prototype 4

Interactive online community engagement

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1. Collaboration Does not come naturally!

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2. Be flexible!

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3. Technology is your friend!

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4. Build in feedback loops!

* Embrace experimentation

* Fail Fast

* Focus on process not outcome

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5. Reflect on-action and in-action!

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Concluding Thoughts

  • Interdisciplinary work is absolutely complex
  • Interdisciplinary work is absolutely unpredictable
  • Interdisciplinary work is absolutely essential to solve wicked problems
  • Interdisciplinary work is absolutely rewarding

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Going forward – developing the Sustainable-Smart Platform

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