Training integration in science, policy and practice: insights from designing and implementing integrative teaching and learning

Key findings from this study

This research indicates that:

• Explicit frameworks defining method-specific, subject-specific, social, and personal competencies enable effective integration training in higher education.
• Competence-oriented learning objectives operationalize integration competencies into measurable student outcomes.
• Designing integrative teaching and learning requires systematic principles grounded in both conceptual study and practical experience with ITD projects.

Overview

Inter- and transdisciplinary (ITD) research increasingly addresses complex problems requiring integration across scientific disciplines, policy, and practice. Integration across these boundaries represents the core challenge in ITD projects. Few studies examine how to proactively develop and teach integration competencies in ITD higher education. This work identifies design principles and teaching strategies for equipping students with integration skills.

Methods and approach

The authors combined conceptual insights from studying integration with empirical insights from leading ITD projects. They developed principles for designing integrative teaching and learning. They applied these principles in an MSc course at ETH Zurich titled 'Integration in Science, Policy and Practice: Inter- and Transdisciplinary Concepts, Methods, Tools.' The course operationalized competencies through learning objectives and teaching activities.

Results

The study defines method- and subject-specific competencies alongside social and personal competencies necessary for integration. The authors operationalized these competencies through competence-oriented learning objectives and implemented corresponding teaching and learning activities. The MSc course exemplifies application of these design principles, with documented learning outcomes demonstrating student capability development. Initial lessons learned from course implementation identify effective practices for supporting integration skill development across science, policy, and practice boundaries.

Implications

The principles and approaches outlined provide actionable guidance for study directors and lecturers designing integrative higher education programs. Establishing explicit competency frameworks enables systematic curriculum design that targets integration across disciplines and sectors. Competence-oriented learning objectives and targeted teaching activities create measurable pathways for students to develop the leadership and collaboration skills required in ITD contexts.

Scope and limitations

This summary is based on the study abstract and available metadata. It does not include a full analysis of the complete paper, supplementary materials, or underlying datasets unless explicitly stated. Findings should be interpreted in the context of the original publication.