“It was an honour to travel to Berlin and to be hosted at the generous staff at HU. I was attracted to IRI THESys because it has the bold ambition of institutionalising new models of scientific practice that support transformations.” Jason Alexandra
A call for the institutionalization of integrative research approaches
How can universities become a catalyst for social change? This is the question that drives THESys guest Dr. Jason Alexandra from the Australian National University (ANU).
Jason Alexandra was a guest at IRI THESys in December 2023 with an International Connections Grant as part of the strategic partnership between HU and ANU. During his guest stay, the expert on water and climate issues analyzed the work of IRI THESys and compared it with that of his two home institutes, the Institute for Climate, Energy & Disaster Solutions (ICEDS) and the Institute for Water Futures (IWF). His conclusion: the current crises in land, water, energy and food systems require a reform of research practices and calls for the institutionalization of integrative, transdisciplinary research and the expansion of international networking. Alexandra has also identified three success criteria that can be seen as the basis for IRIs: inter- and transdisciplinary research, the training of young talents, and science communication, which builds the necessary bridge to society.
In a recently published report, Jason Alexandra presents the results of his observations. The full report is available on the ANU website: Enhancing research collaboration between The Australian National University and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
Photo credits: Andreas Süß
