The New Education Policy enunciated by the Government of India has made a case for

Multi-disciplinary Universities and Institutions, focusing on creating strong inter-

disciplinary programs and learning. In the process of taking the knowledge learned
over the years and incorporating it into an educational program that is offered to every
student, we have siloed knowledge in the way we teach, and learn. Most of the
challenges we face at the global level are a result of this attempt to address disparate
parts of the real world and ignore the interconnections between them.

Interdisciplinary learning refers to the concept of learning a core area from multiple
perspectives. Proven to boost learning outcomes, interdisciplinary learning allows
students to think critically, identify their own leanings/predispositions, accept the
unknown and respect ethical boundaries. It also enables students to gain insights from
different disciplines, synthesize information surrounding a topic; creating new
learning’s and, ultimately, offers a more complete understanding of the topic. Despite
all the merits of Interdisciplinary learning it is found wanting in addressing “wicked”,
messy and seemingly intractable problems of the real world. Problems - like antibiotic
resistant diseases, water management, food security, energy challenges, global
warming - are like a tangled mess of multiple threads and not knowing which thread to
pull first to untangle it.

It is these kinds of problems that require thinkers who can transcend disciplinary
boundaries, work collaboratively, and handle complexity and
obstacles. Transdisciplinary learning in that sense become more important. It differs
from Interdisciplinary learning where “cooperation among various disciplines or
heterogeneous sectors in the same science lead to actual interactions, to a certain
reciprocity of exchanges resulting in mutual enrichment” (Piaget, 1972), whereas
Transdisciplinarity takes this integration of disciplines as a holistic approach. It is not
just about interactions between specialized fields, but also be part of a total system
where the purpose is Social and creates a new body of knowledge. It is not my
contention that Interdisciplinary learning should not be practiced and taught but that
students in undergraduate programs must also be exposed to Transdisciplinary
thinking and learning.

At Navrachana University we have a program that we call “Khoj” which attempts to

embody Transdisciplinary learning. Multidisciplinary teams comprising of about 5 or 6
participants from the various schools of the University studying in different disciplines
get together and pick a socially relevant problem which facilitate a Transdisciplinary
program of inquiry.

The entire idea of the program is to explain to students the need to work in multi-
disciplinary teams understand problems from each other perspective and arrive at an
innovative solution that encourages “out of the box” thinking. It is pertinent to note
that Stanford University has designed a program called the University of the Future.
Termed Stanford 2025, the project marks a distinctive shift from the current system of
education. The unique feature of this shift is the movement towards Transdisciplinary
learning with the objective of preparing students for the future.

According to this vision of Stanford, students will select courses that are in line with
their life goals. For example, ‘I am learning agriculture to eliminate world hunger’ or ‘I
am learning Computer Science to build ways for inclusiveness of citizens and thereby
promote equality’. Courses students take will be dependent on what the student wants
to achieve and Universities will be flexible on this count and not condition a-priori for
graduation. Syllabus will be customized and adaptive. Universities, as per Stanford,
will then become Centers’ of Excellence focusing on competences such as Scientific
Analysis, Quantitative Reasoning, Social Inquiry and Communication Effectiveness.
These will then become the competencies to promote Transdisciplinary learning and
equip students with the capability to address their career and future needs.

While the proposition of Stanford looks good, I am not sure how well it can be
implemented. Not many students who have passed high school know what they want to
do with their lives. Therefore for undergraduate students it makes more sense to
gradually expose them to the idea of Transdisciplinarity. And this is best implemented
as a practice oriented course as part of their curriculum.