In our research we learn to work with different methodologies, perspectives, and forms of knowledge, and we develop skills that are essential for addressing complex societal challenges. Yet when it comes to writing papers, much of that added value often remains difficult to capture within conventional academic formats. Do you recognize the challenge to express the value of your transdisciplinary work in academic publications?

Many of us work in projects where the research process and outcomes are fundamentally shaped by collaboration across disciplines and with societal partners. Questions that regularly come up are:

• How do you describe co-creation and iterative research processes academically?
• How do you make the integration of different disciplines and types of knowledge visible?
• What language helps to communicate the value of transdisciplinary approaches without becoming vague or overly generic?
• And how do we prevent important parts of our work from disappearing in the translation to a publication?

During the session, we will:

• reflect on concrete challenges we encounter when publishing transdisciplinary research;
• identify what gets “lost” when translating project processes into papers and exchange examples and formulations from our own work;
• and collaboratively draft shared language that helps describe the transdisciplinary approach used across our projects.

The aim of the session is not only to support individual publications, but also to start building a shared vocabulary, useful text-elements (such as reusable formulations, publication snippets or reviewer-response examples). Your efforts could lead to a practical “Transdisciplinary Research Writing Guide”. A living document that supports young researchers working in transdisciplinary contexts more broadly, can become an internal onboarding tool and a citable Healthy Start output. We would be very happy if you could join.

Program

10.00    Part 1 of the session “Reflect & Communicate”
12.00    Lunch
12.30    Part 2 of the session “Reflect & Communicate”
15.00    Social drinks
16.00    End

This event is an initiative of the Healthy Start YOUNG community, created to support early-career researchers within Convergence and beyond in their growth as transdisciplinary frontrunners. By bringing together diverse approaches, disciplines, and forms of expertise, Healthy Start YOUNG aims to foster meaningful connections, stimulate collaboration, and strengthen the next generation of researchers working towards societal impact.