Which infrastructure is needed for information and for the students to collaborate?

This might be setting a date where as many as possible are able to attend, setting up a Moodle or Teams room for the collaboration, sending out invitations or coordinating with study secretaries. Consider what is needed and who is responsible for making it happen.

Which students are you targeting and how will you get them to participate?

Evaluations show that, in several instances, recruiting students is a time-consuming obstacle. This is often underestimated from the beginning, so it might be beneficial to consider:

• Who you want to participate
• How best to reach the students
• Is the incentive to participate equally appealing to the entire target group (different disciplines might have different motivations)
• Who is responsible for communication about the activity and communicating with participants?

Are you planning on changing the curriculum for the activity, or is it extracurricular?

There are different options and available resources depending on whether your interdisciplinary activity is in the curriculums or not. Some main considerations when planning interdisciplinary collaborations within the curriculum are:

• Different disciplines are to collaborate – are they to have the same curriculum? also is the activity the same amount of ECTS across involved disciplines?
• Are the learning outcomes coordinated across disciplines – are the participating students expected to learn the same regardless of their discipline or are there differences? If there are differences it can be necessary to ensure differences in curriculum are compatible. 
• Define how exams are going to proceed. Are the students being examinated together? What are they being assed on? And also, be aware that examinators and censors are properly prepared for the interdisciplinary context.
• Collaborate and seek guidance with the study board. Study Service is also available for guidance.
• Are students’ participation mandatory or voluntary? This might have an influence on the level of collaboration among the students as well as student motivation.

 

How much time are you prepared to spend on the activity?

In terms of resources, time consumption is on top of the list when it comes to establishing and running interdisciplinary activities. This includes almost all aspects of the process from developing a suitable case, recruiting disciplines (both educators and students), potential curriculum revisions, facilitating student collaboration as well as assessment and evaluation. It is not the same as mono-disciplinary projects. Prepare for the increased time consumption.

Who is responsible for making this project happen?

Get an overview of how you would like the project to be – either individually if you are the sole instigator or together with the other interested disciplines. When all disciplines with a stake or role in the project are identified, make sure you reconcilliate the expectations within this group. These pages can be used as inspiration as well as this list of considerations. The important thing is, that you all agree on the key elements of your project as well as who does what.