An interdisciplinary team from the Potsdam University of Applied Sciences, the Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development and the Centre for Higher Education Development in G¨¹tersloh is pursuing the research objective of systematically investigating transdisciplinary research (TDR) at universities of applied sciences (UAS) and contributing to the professionalisation and quality development of research at UAS.

Research at universities of applied sciences has become increasingly important in recent decades and is characterised by close links with non-university practice. The application-orientated research approach of UASs has parallels with transdisciplinary research, which is aimed at cooperation between science and non-scientific stakeholders to solve social problems. Despite the increasing importance of this type of research, there have been hardly any studies on the role of TDR at UAS in Germany to date.
This is where the TDR4HAW project comes in: For the first time, it is systematically investigating, using various empirical methods, how transdisciplinary research is anchored at UAS and what potential it offers for the further development of the German research system.

In the joint project, research activities at UAS in Germany are firstly recorded quantitatively and secondly typologised qualitatively with regard to their manifestation of TDR. In addition, the characteristics, structures and framework conditions of TDR are analysed in detail using case studies on the federal state of Brandenburg. In addition to investigating the status quo, TDR4HAW will survey the needs of stakeholders, including researchers, practice partners and university management, with regard to the professionalisation and quality development of TDR. The findings will be validated in close consultation with experts and practitioners to determine their transferability beyond Brandenburg.

With its focus on research at UAS and in particular on TDR, TDR4HAW sheds light on a previously unnoticed field of research and also opens up a target group that has received little attention to date. The project not only provides a broader perspective for science and higher education research, but also aims to develop concrete concepts for the profiling and further development of transdisciplinary research at UAS and to systematically utilise its diverse potential for the science and higher education system.

To the project page: /forschung-transfer/projekte/tdr4haw-transdisziplinaere-forschung-hochschulen-angewandte-wissenschaften