Postdoctoral Researcher in Investigating Practices of Interdisciplinary Research and Education

Today, interdisciplinarity in research and education is a hot topic. But how do we ensure that this collaboration between different fields is actually successful in science and in the classroom? As a postdoc, you will look at how interdisciplinary research projects and education function in practice and what the added value is. A position with a lot of freedom, in a relaxed and open environment.

We are looking for a postdoctoral researcher to carry out a research project on interdisciplinary research and education. The project's aim is to clarify the nature of and challenges for interdisciplinary research and interdisciplinary education. The project will employ both empirical and philosophical methods, corresponding with the variety of expertise present at the Institute for Science in Society (ISiS).

While it is often claimed that solving today's complex societal and scientific problems requires an interdisciplinary approach, it is still not clear how effective interdisciplinary research can be realized. A similar question concerns academic education: there is a growing number of so-called interdisciplinary programmes, but the conditions for successful interdisciplinary education remain unclear. Our research project (two intertwined projects to be carried out in tandem by a postdoctoral researcher and a PhD candidate) aims at investigating both aspects of interdisciplinarity - research and education - and their interaction.

Important research questions of the project are, regarding research: How do interdisciplinary research projects function in practice? What are the merits and pitfalls of interdisciplinary work? What role do disciplinary identities play? How do scientists with different backgrounds, skills and expertise communicate and interact in interdisciplinary contexts? Regarding education: How does existing interdisciplinary education look like? What are the experiences of students in interdisciplinary programmes? What are the conditions for successful interdisciplinary education? Regarding interaction between research and education: What is the added value of interdisciplinary education for interdisciplinary research projects, and vice versa?

These research questions will be approached by means of a combination of empirical and philosophical methods, which may include: qualitative social scientific methods, literature review, document analysis, and conceptual analysis. For the empirical part of the project, the researchers will select case studies of interdisciplinary research projects and educational programmes.

As a postdoctoral researcher in this project you will be expected to write and publish first-author papers, contribute to related projects as a co-author and present your work at international conferences and workshops. You will collaborate closely with a PhD candidate in the same project. Part of your workload will consist of teaching activities at our institute, assisting staff members in their courses at the BSc and/or MSc level. In addition, you may be involved in the supervision and mentoring of junior researchers (PhD candidates, Master's students and interns).