AIAS Off-Site Seminar for AIAS Fellows 2026
Playing the Long Game: Interdisciplinary Research, Collaboration and Valuing Research
Info about event
Time
Location
Sandbjerg Gods
General aims:
- To reflect on interdisciplinary research as a long-term investment in yourself as a researcher
- To share experiences with interdisciplinarity
- To socialise with colleagues and get to know more about their research in a beautiful and remote part of Denmark
Abstract
As a fellow at AIAS, you arrive with your own research project and your own disciplinary tradition. But the fellowship offers something beyond that; the chance to let your thinking be disrupted and enriched by encounters with researchers who ask fundamentally different questions and work in entirely different ways. One key aspect of being an AIAS fellow is to stay open to new inputs, allow unexpected connections to form, and let your research evolve in directions you did not anticipate when you applied. Interdisciplinary experience shapes not just what you produce, but who you become as a researcher.
This raises a broader question: what do we value in interdisciplinary research? Traditional metrics such as publications, citations and grant income rarely capture the slow, generative work that happens when researchers from different disciplines truly engage with one another. How do we bridge different methodologies and cultures? And what motivates researchers to pursue unlikely collaborations and new ideas?
These are some of the questions this year's seminar sets out to explore. On the first day of the seminar, four short talks will open the conversation, each drawing on their own experience of interdisciplinary work, touching on different stages of collaboration, and on how research can create value that goes beyond traditional measures of output. The talks are designed to spark conversation and set the stage for group discussions and a walk-and-talk session, where fellows can exchange experiences of both the benefits and challenges of working across disciplines.
The second day centres on a hands-on workshop offering fellows the opportunity to actively explore the dynamics, opportunities, and challenges of interdisciplinary collaboration. Building on the themes raised on the first day, the workshop invites fellows to examine how interdisciplinary ideas emerge and how shared understanding develops across disciplinary boundaries and moving from reflection to direct experience.
Contact
Kamilla Rosenberg Franck, kamilla@aias.au.dk