Academics Anonymous...

Academics Anonymous: break down barriers between disciplines

 & Three ways we are stifling research

Universities are outdated – big problems require thinkers who can transcend the traditional boundaries between subjects

Academics from different disciplines need to work together more. Photograph: Graham Turner for the Guardian

The world is changing at an incredible rate. Pressing problems like climate change and the related social unrest are connected to an ever-growing population and dwindling resources. It has become clear that these vast problems cannot be answered by single academic disciplines, working within archaic institutional settings and throttled by systemic boundaries.
Working across disciplines is the key to answering the big questions, focusing on what is needed to solve problems, and transcending the boundaries of conventional approaches and disciplines. However, in academia we have put boundaries in place to stop this happening, and the pace of change to adopt new strategies is glacial at best.
From: The Guardian, Higher Education Network  30 May 2014