By Catherine Lyall
Professor Gabriele Bammer is doing something very exciting. In her forthcoming book ‘Disciplining Interdisciplinarity’ she sets out to build a new discipline – Integration and Implementation Sciences or I2S.
Disciplines exist because, in the past at least, they made knowledge manageable. They also bestow considerable benefits in terms of peer recognition, access to resources, clear training pathways and professional kudos. But the changing dynamics of the natural, social and political world mean that researchers are increasingly called upon to generate innovative solutions to multi-dimensional, policy-related problems on a regional, national or global scale.The ability to deliver solutions to such challenges increasingly requires integration across disciplines. It also requires that academics reach out to the policy, private and third sectors.
