Stimulating learning behaviour in integrated multidisciplinary collaborations at the TU Delft

Abstract

A shift in academia is taking place, from individual excellence towards more collaboration. Where autonomy and individuality are highly valued by scientists and the systems in which they operate, a push towards more collaboration in the scientific field in the Netherlands is inevitable. Scientific issues are becoming increasingly complex and demand a wide range of expertise and methodology in order to be solved. This necessitates not only collaboration, it requires far-reaching integration and leads to inevitable interdependency within the collaboration. To be successful, one needs to combine the knowledge available within multiple disciplines to create a solution together. In these collaborations, team learning behaviour becomes a necessary collaborative effort in order to work together effectively.
In this research, team learning behaviour in multidisciplinary academic teams at the TU Delft is investigated. It focusses on integrated multidisciplinary collaborations, which include inter- or transdisciplinary collaborations and everything in between. The goal of this research is to come up with an idea that could help stimulate team learning behaviour.
Through a non-systematic literature review, an extensive overview of factors that have an influence on team learning behaviour and their underlying relations is made. The factors are categorised as learning boosters and learning drainers. A diagram is used to show the complexity and interconnectedness of the influence factors on team learning behaviour. From this overview, a section was chosen to focus on, the antecedent factors. This is the section with which the TU Delft could most effectively influence the team learning behaviour of its academic integrated multidisciplinary collaborations.
Through semi-structured interviews, issues were identified with the current team learning behaviour within these collaborations. These issues turned out to be spread out over three different levels. Some issues can be addressed within collaborations. Some issues are broader than a collaboration and can only be solvable within the organisation, in the TU Delft. A few issues present themself more in the whole academic field. These issues might not be solvable by the TU Delft, but they might be able to contribute.
Three main themes were identified to be in the way of the collaborative effort of learning behaviour:
• Low prioritisation of collaborative work due to the pull to individualistic work. This issue presented itself within the collaboration, the organisation, and the academic field.
• Non-efficient collaboration activities. Within the collaboration, this is partly due to implicit communication. This results in scientists often having to spend their personal time on collaboration efforts, which could be tackled on the organisation level.
• Few integrated multidisciplinary collaboration opportunities. In the organisation this is mainly visible in job and education opportunities given by inherently monodisciplinary faculties. In the wider academic field, this shows itself in fewer publication opportunities.
As the result of this research, a toolset has been developed to help stimulate learning behaviour. The tools facilitates a session with people who can influence either a collaboration, the organisation or the academic field to find solutions to issues raised. The output of this session are concrete goals and action points to carry out.