‘Partnering for Change: Link Research to Societal Challenges’ is an open online course offering participants the opportunity to explore how to meet the challenges of conducting effective transdisciplinary research. It can be used for both used for self-study or teaching.

In today’s world, we face many complex societal challenges. Projects addressing these challenges often involve actors and stakeholders from different fields and disciplines bringing together their own perspectives or knowledge on a topic. Accordingly, collaborative transdisciplinary approaches are crucial for the success of a project.

In this course, you’ll explore how to meet the challenges of conducting effective transdisciplinary research. You’ll gain insights into a variety of case studies from different fields as you learn from the experiences of peers and experts. You’ll investigate the principles, processes, and uses of transdisciplinarity.

We will explore questions such as:

• How can we address societal challenges with research?
• What complex problems can we think of that may only be solved if several actors find a solution together?
• How can we address complex issues?

The learning outcomes for this course include:

• Developing your research skills as you investigate how to co-produce knowledge for society and academia
• Reflecting transdisciplinarity – its principles, its research processes, and the context in which it is promising
• Applying transdisciplinary approaches to societally relevant questions
• Identifying guiding questions, phases, and steps of transdisciplinary projects
• Applying the principles and steps of transdisciplinary research to examples in order to reflect the implication for own projects
• Reflecting on the role of scientists and stakeholders in society and considering the ethical implications of co-production processes

This course is for students and researchers from all backgrounds as well as stakeholders involved in searching solutions for complex societal challenges.

This course can be accessed anytime. However, the next live run will take place from February 25 to April 16, 2026.

• Live Session 1: 25 February (14:00 – 16:00 CET)
• Live Session 2: 9 March (15:00 – 17:00 CET)
• Live Session 3: 24 March (14:00 – 16:00 CET)
• Live Session 4: 16 April (15:00 – 17:00 CET)