News der Community

In the tdAcademy Special Section Frontiers in transdisciplinary and participatory research in GAIA insights into key questions of transdisciplinary and participatory research are offered. Guest editors in collaboration with the German Society for Transdisciplinary and Participatory Research (GTPF) are Daniel Lang, Alexandra Lux, Martina Schäfer, and Melanie Mbah, representing the tdAcademy’s supporting institutions. Responsible GAIA editor is Ortwin Renn. 

What are some useful ways of thinking about trust when developing plans to implement your research or strengthen your team? More importantly, what are some practical ways to build trust both as an individual and as an organisation?

How can tourism contribute to sustainable development in mountains? This focus issue brings together insights from the European Alps, the Himalaya, the Pyrenees, and the Canadian Rockies on efforts to adapt mountain tourism to climate change and to transform the sector for greater sustainability, equity, and resilience. All six contributions emphasize the close interconnection between climate change, local communities, and governance.

How can the transition to a net-zero society be shaped in such a way that it is fair, widely accepted by society and economically feasible? Experts from the fields of science, politics and practice addressed this question in Bern on 26 November 2025. Impressions of the interactive conference and key insights from the inspiring presentations are now available in a video. This makes us even more excited for the next Sustainability Science Forum, which will be hosted by the University of Lausanne in 2027. 

The next International Inter- and Transdisciplinarity (ITD) Conference, ITD27, will be hosted by the University of Évora in Évora, Portugal from 31 May through 4 June 2027. We have just updated the ITD27 conference website so you can start thinking about travel plans to join us in Portugal. See the Plan Your Visit page of the ITD27 website for information about traveling to Évora and accommodation. The Exploring Évora page highlights details about the city, including activities and sites to visit. Évora, on top of being a UNESCO World Heritage Site, will be the European Capital of Culture for 2027. There will be many cultural activities to supplement the conference events, but accommodation will fill up quickly, so plan ahead. The Call for Contributions is expected to open by April 2026. Updates will be announced in the ITD Alliance News Bulletin and will be available immediately on the ITD27 website.

ITD Alliance Leadership Board members are developing a series of short videos about “Recognising, accommodating and connecting plurality in theory, methodology and organisations”. The first in the series is by previous Leadership Board member, Ulli Vilsmaier. Her video and accompanying blog post (on Integration and Implementation Insights, i2Insights) are titled “Recognise and value conceptual and linguistic pluralism!”

How can research teams recognise when their use of artificial intelligence is affecting their ability to integrate different knowledge and perspectives? How can they navigate the impact of artificial intelligence on their collaborative processes?

Co-organised with OpenEdition Lab, the infoclio.ch 2025 conference offered different historical and critical perspectives on the Open Science movement and discussed the main challenges of its implementation in the historical sciences.

Wie wird Klimaneutralität so selbstverständlich wie das Zähneputzen? Mit dieser Forschungsfrage startete 2021 das Reallabor Klima-RT-LAB – fünf Jahre später zieht das Projekt eine beeindruckende Bilanz. Ende Januar 2026 diskutierte das Projektteam 18 Empfehlungen gemeinsam mit Politik, Klimaschutz-Vertreter:innen, Wissenschaft und Bürger:innen.

The CAS One Health offered by the University of Bern is an interdisciplinary continuing education program that explores the interconnections between the health of humans, animals, and the environment. With support by the td-net it provides participants with a comprehensive and practice-oriented perspective on today’s complex health challenges. The programme is particularly relevant for professionals from a wide range of sectors working at the interface of ecosystem, animal, and human health.

“Out and about sustainably in Bern” is a sustainable city guide for students and other interested readers. The booklet encourages reflection on what is important for a satisfying and good life and includes facts, ideas, and tips in the areas of sustainable development, transport, food, housing, consumption, as well as culture and events. It follows the sufficiency approach, which values wealth in time and space over wealth in goods and money.

Ziel dieses Studiums ist es, Generalisten auszubilden, die dank holistischer Methoden holistische Lösungen vorschlagen und umsetzen können. An der Universität Basel wird es dazu wieder im Frühjahrsemester 2026 eine öffentliche Ringvorlesung geben. Die Vorlesung findet wöchentlich ab dem 19. Februar 2025 jeweils am Donnerstag von 16.15 bis 18.00 Uhr statt: Suche | Vorlesungsverzeichnis Universität Basel

Die Soziologin und Politikwissenschaftlerin Lisa Deutsch wurde für ihre an der Eawag und der ETH Zürich verfassten Doktorarbeit mit der ETH-Medaille ausgezeichnet. Mit ihrer Forschung zeigte sie auf, wie inter- und transdisziplinäre Forschung gelingen kann und wie sich Theorie und Praxis in der Forschung verbinden lassen.

Hosted by Michel Alhadeff-Jones and Keri Facer, this podcast opens up a space for transdisciplinary reflection where knowledge from anthropology, architecture, the arts, ecology, education, geography, history, law, linguistics, literature, philosophy, and political science intersect. Over the course of 11 episodes, Michel and Keri engage in dialogue with 21 researchers, activists, and artists from five continents to revisit our representations of time, question dominant rhythms, and imagine other, more sustainable and just temporalities.

Articles in this open issue examine the shift from traditional to market-driven yak herding practices in Gatlang, Nepal, challenges in implementing policies on science–society interaction in mountain biosphere reserves worldwide, and the role of topography in socioeconomic development in the European Alps. In the MountainPlatform section, the Afromontane Research Unit presents the Mozambique Mountain Initiative.

As a hub for inter- and transdisciplinary teaching, the STS takes on administrative tasks, supports instructors with didactic expertise, communication, and quality assurance, and provides experimental spaces for innovative, cross-disciplinary teaching formats. It also shares best practices in inter- and transdisciplinary didactics and fosters exchange within its growing community.

Bringing together actors from science and policy is crucial for addressing today’s pressing challenges — from climate change to biodiversity loss and social inequities. But effective dialogue at the Science–Policy Interface (SPI) requires more than knowledge. It takes a set of competencies that are often invisible: listening carefully, recognizing diverse roles, navigating complexity, engaging at the right time and in the right place.

As part of a Swiss consortium, the EPFL+ECAL Lab is contributing to a transdisciplinary research project that aims to advance the treatment of tinnitus. Offering new prospects for non-invasive therapies, this neurofeedback-based project has led to the development of protocols that target the brain processes responsible for tinnitus. This work has already been the subject of several scientific publications.

Tinnitus affects millions of people and can have a significant impact on their quality of life. This promising project will enter the clinical testing phase in January 2026.

The International Center for Transdisciplinary Research and Studies is now on LInkedIn. The society organizes symposia, publishes journals and offers support for transdisiciplinary researchers.

Nachhaltigkeit entsteht zusammen: Im neuen Podcast «Nachtisch» diskutieren Expert:innen aus Wissenschaft und Praxis monatlich ein Thema der nachhaltigen Entwicklung. In der ersten Folge «beleuchten» die Landschaftsökologin Janine Bolliger und der Lichtplaner Jörg Haller den Wert der Dunkelheit. Sie sprechen über kommunale Beispiele, den Einfluss privater Beleuchtung und die Frage, ob die Schweiz ein Lichtschutzgesetz braucht. Und sie empfehlen, sich mehr Dunkelheit zu gönnen. «Nachtisch» wird von der Akademie der Naturwissenschaften Schweiz (SCNAT) serviert und ist auf allen gängigen Podcastplattformen verfügbar. Jetzt reinhören!

After several weeks of preparation, the Institute for Transdisciplinary Research was officially founded on July 21, 2025, in Uster (ZH). Koen Hertoge was elected president; Michael de Rachewiltz was appointed to the board of directors. The institute was entered in the commercial register of the canton of Zurich on August 11, 2025.

The institute's statutes define its core areas of activity, which include the following tasks in particular:

- Carrying out independent, scientifically based research projects with a special focus on environmental and health issues
- Publishing scientific articles and research results
- Designing and implementing educational programs, lectures, workshops, and conferences
- Providing expert input into political decision-making processes

The institute's primary area of activity is in Switzerland and the Alpine region. At the same time, however, it sees its mission as explicitly global and carries out corresponding tasks worldwide.

We are currently preparing to launch our own website and social media presence.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions:

Koen Hertoge (German, English, Dutch)
oder
Michael de Rachewiltz (German, English, Italian)

Email : tdf.institut@gmail.com

On 25 November 2025, i2Insights celebrated its 10th birthday as a toolkit to support researchers and educators tackling complex societal and environmental problems, specifically providing tools to understand and address complexity. It sets out to be:

• global, with contributions from around the world

• comprehensive, tackling all aspects of addressing complex problems

• living, continuing to grow and stay up-to-date.

It’s a good time to reinvigorate the aims, strengthen the toolkit and celebrate achievements.

Stories spark curiosity, foster empathy, and make complex ideas accessible — an approach at the heart of the Swiss Young Academy’s podcast series Spark – Stories from Advocates for Global Change. Aimed at young adults aged 16 to 23, the podcast offers an accessible introduction to transdisciplinary science. Through engaging narratives, it shows how collaboration across disciplines and practice partners can address societal challenges while highlighting diverse scientific career paths.

How can innovation contribute to sustainability in mountains? Articles in this focus issue explore the question from different angles, providing insights from China and various European mountain contexts. In the editorial, Guest Editors Jörg Balsiger, Anne B. Zimmermann, João Carlos Azevedo, and Dietrich Schmidt-Vogt reflect on different framings of innovation and its role in sustainable mountain development.

In times of uncertainty, especially when the role of research, as well as research funding are under threat, how can research teams effectively respond? How can storytelling help?