Real-world laboratories (RWL) aim to support transformations for sustainable urban development by producing outputs with practical and scientific relevance. To achieve these aims, the local community of which the RWL is a part should be in close collaboration from the start of a project. RWLs offer spaces for ‘thinking outside the box’ and for experimenting with new ideas through concrete interventions into the life world of the community. We provide methodological guidance for researchers on how to design interventions in RWLs that both affect change on the ground and contribute to scientific knowledge. This includes addressing issues important to local communities and generating transformation knowledge about how sustainable urban development can be actualised. We use the case of a project-based master’s course within an RWL in the city of Zurich in Switzerland to demonstrate how the use of design thinking supported the development of needs-based interventions, curbing emissions from food consumption while aiming to generate scientifically relevant output. We conclude that further improvements in methodology are needed in order to test the effectiveness of interventions. However, the outputs of the approach show its potential both for having an impact in the real world and building on existing academic concepts for advancing transformation knowledge.@en

In line with EU’s 2050 decarbonization agenda, the H2020 Energy Citizens for Inclusive Decarbon-ization (ENCLUDE) project aims to help the EU fulfil its promise of a just and inclusive decarboni-zation, adopting the principles of sharing and co-creating new knowledge and practices that are aimed at maximizing the number as well as the diversity of citizens and societal actors who are willing and able to contribute and take any form of action in the energy transition. Catalyzing chain reactions of decarbonization activities across the European Union will be achieved through the ENCLUDE Academy for Energy Citizen Leadership. We focus on a bottom-up approach of citizen engagement for decarbonization actions by identifying, networking and supporting local community leaders who have the intention to lead energy indicatives. A part of this support includes providing leaders with an overview of past collective actions across different contexts and time periods to help provide a historical context for current efforts towards societal transformation.
To do this, we sort through the vast and diverse literature documenting and analyzing collective actions, cutting across historical, geographical, social, and epistemological boundaries. Connecting these diverse perspectives to create a holistic understanding of the catalyzing and hindering factors of effective collective action for change, we adapt Ostrom’s Socio-Ecological Systems (SES) frame-work to analyze two historical examples of collective actions from the United States – the civil rights movement and the fall of the tobacco industry. We show that this interdisciplinary framework can be used to analyze collective actions across different time periods and contexts, focusing on different resources and subsystems that span from individual’s and in-groups’ actions and norms, to the general macroenvironment represented with various political, economic and social traits. Analyzing collective actions will ultimately provide valuable insight for initiating and sustaining collective ac-tions within the energy transition.
The analysis of the two distinctive collective actions shows the different leadership and organiza-tional style, as well as the importance of changing norms to reach social and societal change. We identify critical factors to understanding how societal transformation occurs outside of the environ-mental context and evaluate which of these factors are also relevant for decarbonization. The report ends with the practical application of this document to the upcoming ENCLUDE Academy, while the appendix contains further analysis of dozens of other collective actions.@en

Inter- and transdisciplinary research and education, as carried out by scholars trained in the West, is rooted in assumptions about the legitimacy of academic freedom, autonomy, and governance structures. What happens, however, when this type of research is undertaken in a new cultural context in which these assumptions are not self-evident? In this chapter, I explore higher education teaching, research, and governance in China from a historical perspective to answer a key guiding question of this book in this context: How are inter-and transdisciplinary research and education tied to historical notions of higher education within Chinese culture? Are they imports of recent internationalization of a globalized educational system? How are inter- and transdisciplinary approaches visible in institutes and programs that have been or are being created in China? The chapter starts with a description of past traditions in higher education in China and continues with developments that influenced the contemporary higher education system under the regime of the Chinese Communist Party. Finally, I conclude by linking these past developments with manifestations of inter- and transdisciplinarity within the contemporary system of Chinese higher education. The chapter shows that while inter- and transdisciplinarity have historical roots in a traditional notion of Chinese higher education and are beginning to take root in the contemporary system, significant barriers remain for its future development.@en

In this paper, we develop and apply the concept of ‘insight discovery’ as a key competence for transdisciplinary research and learning. To address complex societal and environmental problems facing the world today, a particular expertise that can identify new connections between diverse knowledge fields is needed in order to integrate diverse perspectives from a wide range of stakeholders and develop novel solutions. The capacity for “insight discovery” means becoming aware of personal mental representations of the world and being able to shape and integrate perspectives different from one’s own. Based on experiences and empirical observations within the scope of an educational programme for Masters students, PhD candidates and post-doctoral researchers, we suggest that insights are the outcome of a learning process influenced by the collective and environment in which they are conceived, rather than instant moments of individual brilliance. The process which we describe, named the insight discovery process (IDP), is made up of five aspects. Within a group setting, a person begins with an “original mental model”, experiences an “insight trigger”, processes new information within the “liminal space”, “formulates an insight” and eventually forms an “adapted mental model”. There is a potential for incorporating such process as a fundamental competence for transdisciplinary curricula in undergraduate and graduate programmes by cultivating specific practices and safe learning environments, focused on the enquiry, exchange and integration of diverse perspectives.@en

Citizens are expected to play a significant role to the current energy transition in Europe, such as through prosumerism and collective initiatives for energy efficiency. While there are many platforms for domestic energy analytics and for engaging citizens and transition stakeholders on energy topics, context-specific information is frequently lacking. This article outlines the development of an Interactive Policy Platform that aims to provide contextualized, impact-driven, and ready-to-use information on the role of citizen initiatives in the energy and low-carbon transition in Europe. Specifically, it will help researchers, policymakers, and citizens to explore different dimensions of energy citizenship, understand the decarbonization potentials of diverse clusters of citizens, and identify the conditions under which citizen-led energy initiatives are currently operating. The Platform will be co-designed together with a sample of its future users, ensuring the usability of its interface and the relevance of the provided information. Ultimately, the Platform is envisioned to help transition stakeholders understand and support initiatives related to energy citizenship around Europe, thus contributing to the EU's promise of a just and inclusive decarbonization. @en

In this communication, we present the background and core elements of the 2021 edition of the International Transdisciplinarity Conference. Beginning with a brief history of how the event was initiated and the role played by saguf in supporting its development, we then detail the main features of the conference and its relevance for transdisciplinary sustainability research and education. @en

Wissen allein reicht nicht für eine wirkungsvolle Politik. Vielmehr braucht es Vertrauen, Partizipation und Transdisziplinarität, damit Wissenschaft relevant bleibt und Erkenntnisse in die Praxis umgesetzt werden. Dafür muss sich die Forschungswelt verändern.@en

The paper introduces a heuristic framework for conducting joint problem framing (JPF) processes in transdisciplinary research (TD). JPF is an essential element in confronting real-world problems, especially in the realm of sustainability (Hirsch Hadorn et al. in Ecol Econ 60(1):119–128, 2006; Pohl and Hirsch Hadorn in Principles for designing transdisciplinary research, Oekomm, München, 2007; Rossini in Technikfolgenabschätzung Theor Prax 18(1):117–119, 2009). It is the process of clarifying and prioritizing aspects of a problem situation to ensure its relevance for a diverse collection of stakeholders involved (Kønig et al. in Futures 91:12–24, 2017; Schneider and Buser in Sustain Sci 13(1):129–142, 2017; Stindt et al. in J Bus Log 37(2):113–131, 2016). The goal of this paper is twofold. First, we identify the documented challenges in conducting a joint problem framing process and through personal experience with case studies. Second, we introduce a means to address these challenges in the form of a heuristic framework. This framework is a series of questions which first asks for a description and explanation of the JPF process, based on researcher observations. Then, the framework leads its user to probe for the assumptions behind these observations. Finally, the framework helps its user to derive insights and lessons for conducting future JPF processes based on these responses. This framework is geared primarily towards helping transdisciplinary researchers with varying levels of experience, but can also be used by practitioners.@en

In this chapter, the author demonstrates how engaging with “productive failure” can be used to develop students’ capacity for complex problem-solving in the area of sustainable development. She demonstrates how this approach helps to encourage “productive failure” in students and thereby builds their capacity for complex problem-solving. Productive failure as a learning design does not mean embracing avoidable failures and lowering standards for excellence. Instead, it involves increasing the acceptability of unavoidable failures so that students are able to learn from them. Productive failure is a learning process that can be harnessed within transdisciplinary education for sustainable development to nurture underdeveloped affective competences. It is an approach that provides support for students as they experience unavoidable failures for the sake of long-term growth and learning. The course, Tackling Environmental Problems, creates conditions under which students experience the complexity of real-world problem-solving.@en

In the new Bachelor-level course Umweltproblemlösen (Tackling environmental problems), a part of ETH Zurich’s Environmental Sciences Bachelor’s programme, we teach students to zoom in on elements of practice (design thinking) and to zoom out on the whole system (systems thinking). Participants take stakeholders’ interests and needs into account and prepare possible measures, thus developing transformation knowledge and anticipating their future role as transdisciplinary sustainability scientists. Umweltproblemlösen (Tackling environmental problems) is a Bachelor-level course that carries on a long tradition of transdisciplinary (td) case studies in the Environ mental Sciences curriculum at ETH Zurich. Td case studies introduce students to key features of transdisciplinarity. Two corres ponding learning goals of the case studies are 1. to not only analyse problems, but to also suggest solutions, and 2. to take the complexity of the tackled socio-ecological system into account. In the new course we address both learning goals by integrating systems and design thinking. We present this approach in detail to show how features of transdisciplinarity are transferred to learning contexts. We compare it to the approaches of other td case studies by asking how each interprets and addresses the two learning goals. The comparison shows that the case study approaches implicitly impart different ideas about how a td environmental scientist should support societal problem solving. A key difference to previous approach es is that the new course asks students to enter deeply into the world of practice and the stakeholders’ divergent needs. @en

This chapter discusses how complex, real-world topics related to sustainable development are tackled through a curriculum that fosters transdisciplinary skills and thinking for students at an environmental sciences department at the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, Switzerland (ETH Zurich). We describe a process through which university students at all levels learn how to handle complex, real-world problems. We argue that the ability to frame complex problems and the ability to empathize with diverse points-of-view are key skills for transdisciplinary learning and research. Competence fields are identified by reflecting on the actual skills needed for conducting a transdisciplinary research process and by identifying elements from past teaching experiences that have proven to be effective. We then develop a framework which shows how these competence fields link different learning domains, so that students develop not only cognitive, but also affective and psychomotor abilities. This framework may serve as a starting point for the design of other courses aimed at training transdisciplinarians.@en

Phosphorus is a resource that is utilized with efficiency in most parts of the world. Farmers fertilize with increasing precision; wastewater treatment plants strip phosphorus from sewage; and industries make use of phosphorus byproducts. Why, then, do incidents of eutrophication and harmful algal blooms related to excessive phosphorus outflows continue to intensify? Incremental improvements in phosphorus use efficiency and monitoring of individual phosphorus waste streams no longer seem sufficient to dampen these environmental impacts. A radical shift in perspective is needed, one in which phosphorus is treated as a resource rather than as waste. Using substance flow analysis, we explore various types of phosphorus management scenarios for a specific system, for the urban city-state of Singapore. These scenarios are jointly framed with the urban planning agency of Singapore and takes into consideration both behavioral and infrastructural changes to the status quo. These scenarios include strategies and technologies such as composting, separated incineration of organic and non-organic waste, anaerobic co-digestion of food waste and wastewater, and dedicated anaerobic digestion of food waste and wastewater. Publicly available UN Comtrade data is used to establish temporal trends in phosphorus consumption between 1989 and 2012. Phosphorus waste outputs are verified via empirically collected data on household and commercial waste generation. The results of this paper demonstrate how the transition from a linear to a closed-loop phosphorus cycle might be possible for Singapore, an island that is an important test bed for planning the sustainable metabolism of future urban areas. @en

The anthropogenic use of phosphorus has emerged as a one of the major drivers of global environmental change. The finite supply of the nutrient, geographical concentration of the remaining supply, and continuing occurrences of eutrophication and harmful algal blooms (caused, in part, by excessive phosphorus outflows into the environment) are causes for immediate concern. As a response, there is increasing recognition that phosphorus entering waste streams should be recovered as a resource rather than disposed of as a pollutant. While phosphorus recovery technology and strategies have been outlined in some detail in the existing literature, none have explicitly addressed the reasons for why these processes have not been implemented at scale. In addition, the potential for urban systems to play a role in creating a holistic management system for phosphorus has received little recognition. This paper addresses these knowledge gaps by offering a tool for analyzing the context, drivers, barriers, and implementation of phosphorus recovery technologies in urban areas. The framework tool consists of five guiding questions. The process of answering the questions presents an opportunity for researchers, decision makers, and community stakeholders to explicitly identify what and how changes to the current system can be made. This paper provides an approach for producing the knowledge necessary for facilitating the transition to an urban phosphorus recovery regime that is relevant for both practitioners and academics. The approach may also be adapted to understanding other resource cycles in the future, such as nitrogen, water, and energy.@en

The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH Zurich) is one of the world's leading universities in the fields of technology and natural science and the largest technical university in Switzerland. More than 18,500 students from over 110 countries are studying at ETH Zurich. About 500 professors teach and conduct research in the fields of engineering, architecture, mathematics, natural sciences, and system-oriented sciences as well as economics, management, and the social sciences. ETH Zurich's mission in education is to equip its students with the highest level of knowledge and skills; the ability to feel at ease and act in complex and rapidly evolving environments, while at the same time being able to maintain an understanding for ethical and cultural values. Accordingly, the ETH Sustainability Summer Programme aims to foster students’ ability to innovate and act as change agents for sustainability. Collaborations between different departments and competence centres at ETH Zurich as well as national and international partner organizations provide an interdisciplinary environment that offers insight into various aspects of sustainable development. Focus is not only on providing theoretical knowledge but also on providing practical, hands-on experience through specific case studies. Since the first ETH Sustainability summer school was held in 2010, more than 160 students have joined. Participants have come from 34 different countries, 42 universities and 44 disciplines. Students have been able to work in diverse cultural and environmental settings — in Switzerland, Ethiopia and Singapore. Renowned experts from 47 external organizations, including academia, industry, public administration and NGOs have shared their knowledge and expertise with the participants. Here we evaluate and discuss the challenges and successes of the programme over the past five years from a practitioner's perspective.@en

The salinity and cation composition of water and soil were documented in a large (98 km(2)) wastewater-irrigated area (WIA) downstream of Hyderabad, India. The wastewater, which flows in a river that passes through the city, had a high to very high salinity hazard (EC = 1.1-3.0 dS m(-1)) that increased with distance from the city. The EC of soil irrigated by wastewater sampled within 8 km of the city was 6.2 to 8.4 times the EC of soil irrigated by uncontaminated groundwater. Between 57 to 100% of soil samples in the upper 10 cm within 8 km of the city exceeded the salinity tolerance of rice (Oryza sativa L.). Soil salinity fell rapidly after 8 km downstream and changed most in the upper 0 to 5 cm of the soil, indicating retention of cations in the upper soil horizon. The effect of wastewater irrigation on soil exchangeable cations was most evident for Na(+) (Exch-Na) near the city (<8 km downstream), where Exch-Na averaged 20 to 22 times the Exch-Na in soils irrigated by groundwater outside the WIA. Exchangeable Mg(+) and K(+) correlated with clay percentage, though both still had higher concentrations near the city controlling for clay content. Near the city, where salinity and Exch-Na concentrations were highest, farmers had replaced rice with para grass [Brachiaria mutica (Forsk.)], which has higher salinity tolerance and expanding demand as a fodder crop. Salinity may constrain rice production in wastewater-irrigated areas of India and elsewhere. @en

As a consequence of increasing urbanization and shortage of good quality water, wastewater irrigation is a growing phenomenon in many arid and semi-arid countries. A common characteristic of wastewater is high salinity, with cities typically adding 200 - 500 mg l-1 of total dissolved solids compared to the source water supplied to the city. Wastewater from the city of Hyderabad in southern India is discharged to the Musi river. Downstream of the city this water, supplemented with groundwater and runoff captured in small reservoirs, is an important source for irrigation. Comparisons between upstream and downstream monitoring sites, over a distance of 39.7 km, revealed changes in the salinity of the river water. A simple mass-balance model was developed to simulate the observed differences. Results indicate that 94% of the salt load originates in the city. Downstream salinity increased by about 9%. In fields irrigated with wastewater, soil salinity increased with time with salt retention of approximately 34 kg ha-1 y-1. This represents approximately 0.1% of the total salt load applied to the land. In many places the soils have salinity in excess of recommended tolerance levels for rice, once the principal crop, but which is now increasingly being converted to fodder grass.@en

There are many uncertainties regarding the future level of natural gas consumption in China. In order to obtain a clear idea of what factors drive fuel consumption choices, we focus on three regions of China: Beijing, Guangdong, and Shanghai. Using an economic optimization model (MARKAL), we consider drivers including the level of sulfur dioxide emissions constraints set by the government, the cost of capital, the price and available supply of natural gas, and the rate of penetration of advanced technology on both supply and demand sides. The results from the model show that setting strict rules for SO 2 emissions will be instrumental in encouraging the use of natural gas, and may also cause some reduction in CO 2 emissions. The currently differentiated cost of capital for various sectors within the Chinese economy, on the other hand, artificially boosts the economics of capitalintensive coal relative to natural gas. This suggests that financial reform could be a lever for encouraging increased gas use.@en