Strategic Interdisciplinary Education

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• Interdisciplinary education equips graduates to think more ambitiously, challenge assumptions, and develop stronger skills.
• Institutions like Leeds School of Business are placing cross-disciplinary academic programs—from integrated business and engineering to sustainability degrees—at the heart of long-term strategic planning.
• Global research partnerships are becoming a cornerstone of interdisciplinary academic strategy to address challenges that transcend geographic and disciplinary boundaries.

Transcript

Vijay Katri: [00:10] I think this is a point in time where we really need to reimagine the questions we’re asking. We need to ask broader questions. Interdisciplinary education really allows our graduates to think even bigger and be even more ambitious, and also to think outside the box.

[00:30] I think the challenging part about being in one silo of discipline is that your questions tend to be smaller. And as you’re learning how to traverse multiple disciplines, you are also learning how to learn. It truly is a strategic priority for the Leeds School of Business.

[00:50] As we’ve launched our strategic priority for the next 10 years, interdisciplinary academic programs are right at the heart of it. Integrated business and engineering is one example. Another example is a degree in sustainability.

[01:07] And it’s not one degree in sustainability. It really is a portfolio of sustainability-related degrees spanning the arts and sciences, engineering, and business. There is so much research that is happening across disciplines. How do we continue to provide more momentum for that research?

Interdisciplinary education really allows our graduates to think even bigger and be even more ambitious.

[01:25] One of the things we’ve also been doing with respect to research is building connections across the world. Because some sustainability questions are not just true for the United States. Those questions are also important in other geographic regions, for example, in Europe and Asia.

[01:45] Right now, we’re building connections in Europe. So, for example, with Tilburg University, wherein we’re really asking questions that are broader in scope, and we’re working with faculty across the globe. That is one piece related to research.

[02:02] The second piece is academic programs, and academic programs really are that degree. It’s really a portfolio of MS degrees in sustainability.

[02:12] As we were talking to our industry partners, they said we need to reimagine and do something bigger. Integrated business and engineering was a natural place for us to start.

[02:24] Also, what is happening right now, the business leaders say, is that the problems that will arise in the next decade or two will really be at the cusp of business and engineering. They really want both the business and engineering to think bigger, to think more broadly about interdisciplinary initiatives.

Business leaders say the problems that will arise in the next decade or two will really be at the cusp of business and engineering.

[02:45] One of them is Boulder Climate Ventures. This is an initiative in which both engineering and business students are working together. When you think about climate change, there are so many elements that are more technology- and design-oriented.

[03:04] The overarching goal of Bolder Climate Ventures is to develop innovative approaches and designs that result in products that help alleviate problems related to climate change.

[03:18] We also have to think from a business perspective, how do you develop a business offering? You also have to consider the design perspective when thinking about technology-oriented products. This really provides a venue for Leeds students to work with engineering students and develop something truly unique.