Interdisciplinary doctoral research networks: enhancers and inhibitors of social capital development

Abstract

Interdisciplinary research networks are increasing, with professionals encouraged to undertake research across disciplines to increase innovation, creativity and knowledge. More recently, this interdisciplinary focus is being mirrored by the establishment of interdisciplinary doctoral research networks. But do these networks work? And if so, how and why? We employ social capital theory to (a) understand the lived experiences of students in interdisciplinary doctoral programmes and (b) build programme design theory to support the development of social capital within such programmes. We present the results of 28 semi-structured interviews conducted with doctoral students from three European Union funded interdisciplinary research training networks to understand how they perceive the enhancers, inhibitors and manifestations of social capital within their networks. Key themes revolve around 'extracting value from the interdisciplinary process', 'motivating students throughout the interdisciplinary programme journey', and 'relating to others both within and external to the programme'. We propose a framework for interdisciplinary programme design.

Leveraging Interdisciplinary Education Toward Securing the Future of Connected Health Research in Europe: Qualitative Study

“…All participants consented to participate and were assured of confidentiality and anonymity. The interviews were undertaken by an experienced qualitative researcher who has published several papers that have employed similar research methodologies [27,41-43].…”

“…Mountford et al [27] comment on the increase of interdisciplinary research networks at the doctoral research level to increase innovation, creativity, and knowledge and focus on three such CH doctoral research networks that have been funded by the EU. They raise concerns as to the structuring of these networks to accomplish both deep disciplinary goals and broader interdisciplinary objectives at the same time.…”

Skills of PhD Graduates for Open Science and Open Innovation

“…In academia, international, interdisciplinary and intersectoral networks are on the increase with established researchers collaborating within and across disciplines to increase and improve innovation, creativity and knowledge (Chung, 2018, p. 77-95;James Jacob, 2015). More recently, this is being mirrored by the establishment of interdisciplinary and intersectoral doctoral research networks, the intention of which is to train PhD graduates for careers both within and outside academia and who are equipped to address societal challenges (Mountford et al, 2020).…”

Interdisciplinary and Intersectoral Doctoral Education Designed to Improve Graduate Employability

“…At a professional and research level, international, interdisciplinary and inter-sectoral networks are on the increase. Such collaborative doctoral programs can assist the knowledge society in finding innovative ways of approaching the world's problems by asking creative questions and finding creative solutions within multiple employment contexts (Mountford, Coleman, Kessie & Cusack, 2020). To date, there is a lack of research in the area of the interdisciplinary, inter-sectoral doctoral education and the question remains: how do we best design these programmes to ensure that the PhD students' develop into big thinkers?…”

“…CHAMELEONS ( 2021) is a European Union Horizon 2020 research and innovation project which aims to design, deliver and evaluate a range of interdisciplinary, intersectoral and international modules that will broaden PhD graduate skills, improve their employability in both academic and non-academic environments and which will equip them to solve societal challenges in the area of https://doi.org/10.36315/2021end136 Education and New Developments 2021 connected health. CHAMELEONS was based upon previous work which examined the perceptions of interdisciplinary and intersectoral doctoral students engaged in EU funded Marie Curie Fellowships (Mountford et al, 2020) and the other which examined how interdisciplinary education could be used in the area of connected health (Chouvarda, Mountford, Trajkovik, Lončar-Turukalo, & Cusack, 2019). The project consortium consists of ten partners from five European countries.…”