Project aim

THE-GLOW project aims to strengthen capacities of Higher Education Institutions in Thailand and Europe, and eventually in countries neighbouring Thailand, to develop and implement curricula that train participants in the transdisciplinary approaches and skills required for the future workforce to address complex global problems.

Brief rationale

Across the globe there is increasing recognition that many problems of society, the environment, economies, and population health have complex inter-related causes and require action from many directions. These issues are often called “wicked problems”. There is increasing recognition by both national and international agencies that understanding and addressing these problems requires expert knowledge from many academic disciplines as well as the expertise of people from government, industry and local communities. Transdisciplinary practice is not just communication between these groups but the ability to bring together the diverse perspectives in ways that enable us to understand complex problems in new ways that stimulate new thinking and collaboration about solutions.

Traditionally higher education has involved movement into increasingly specialized knowledge areas rather than into broad, pro-active engagement with many disciplines and stakeholders. Many people and governments have recognized, however, that the workforce of the future requires a different set of skills which relate to transdisciplinary practice. This necessitates new approaches to higher education that help learners develop the necessary capabilities for working in transdisciplinary partnerships. This, in turn, requires academic institutions and their staff to develop new approaches and skills for instruction, preferably approaches that are themselves transdisciplinary. This is the focus of this project.

Capacity building explained

This project is about capacity building for higher education. This requires capacity building at many levels including across and between higher education institutions, among teaching and support staff, in students and other learners, and in new and strengthened partnerships. While this project has activities focusing on each of these levels the most extensive capacity building activities are targeted at teaching staff and their faculties and relate to the ability to develop and implement genuinely transdisciplinary curricula and courses. This requires changes to how curricula are designed, teaching methods and approaches to assessment.

Participating staff will learn through co-creation activities by developing curricula for three transdisciplinary courses each year of the project and then participating in a program of mentoring and peer support to deliver these courses in transdisciplinary teaching teams. Wherever possible partners from other sectors will be included in the curriculum development and delivery activities. Initial participants will act as trainers and mentors for successive rounds. The first round of capacity building will be in English but successive rounds will also be offered in Thai.

Three rounds of training and mentoring support, each with three phases

Curriculum development training and mentoring

9 months to 2 years ahead of planned course delivery

Training and mentoring while planning course education materials and delivery

3 months ahead

Mentoring and support during delivery of new courses

The training and mentoring support offer will include

Transdisciplinary curriculum design and delivery

Competency-based curriculum design

Problem-based educational approaches

Technology strategies to integrate with problem-based learning and transdisciplinary approaches

Problem solving and peer support opportunities

Project objectives

In support of the overall aim the program has six specific objectives

E

To build capacity among all partners.

E

To develop and implement a core set of transdisciplinary courses, with full participation of all partners throughout, to address issues that have been identified as requiring a strongly transdisciplinary approach.

E

To develop technological infrastructure and capacity that will allow multiple organizations to participate in the delivery of courses, using teaching approaches that best support access to transdisciplinary learning across organizations and countries.

E

To partner with public and private sector and civil society organizations to offer the courses for training and continuous professional development.

E

To extend the development of competencies in innovative interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary pedagogical teaching approaches to other departments, faculties and schools within the partner organizations.

E

To develop a community-of-practice among higher education institutions as well as organizations in the public and private sectors, and civil society to continue to develop competencies and skills in transdisciplinary approaches.

Expected outcomes

In summary, institutional and individual capacity building, will facilitate the design and development of transdisciplinary course curricula, which in turn equips graduates with transdisciplinary problem solving skills, while a community of practice will sustain and expand project gains. This is expected to attract prospect graduate students, create joint student cohorts across partnering programs, and bring continuing education opportunities for professionals. Graduates are then better equipped to deliver the need for responsive practice, which is in demand among employers.

News

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Co-creation Workshop 2024

Co-creation Workshop 2024

We had a wonderful 4-day co-creation workshop (25-28 September 2024) where participants from 5 universities – Asian Institute of Technology (Thailand), Kasetsart University (Thailand), Thammasat University (Thailand), Heidelberg University (Germany), Maastricht University (Netherlands) – have come together to develop three transdisciplinary courses with active learning approaches.

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Transdisciplinary Approach to Zero Hunger

Transdisciplinary Approach to Zero Hunger

The course "Transdisciplinary Approach to Zero Hunger" familiarized students with the concept of transdisciplinarity and the need to approach zero hunger - ensuring equal access to sustainable, healthy diets for all - as a multifaceted problem. Students learned that...

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