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Interdisciplinary Teamwork on Sustainable Development—The Top Ten Strategies Based on Experience of Student Initiated Projects

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Handbook of Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development in Higher Education

Part of the book series: World Sustainability Series ((WSUSE))

Abstract

Interdisciplinary teamwork has been identified to be a key factor for sustainable development (SD) at higher education institutions. However, there are several difficulties with the practical implementation. Existing student initiated projects (SIPs) may hold the key to possible solutions. This paper presents the top ten strategies for successful interdisciplinary teamwork on SD. It is based on qualitative analysis of expert interviews describing experiences in SIPs. Using the method of grounded theory, the data was collected, interviews were coded and central categories were identified. Besides finding common ground, it is crucial to invest time and patience, adapt professional languages, share information and educate oneself, built a friendship, differentiate between person and discipline and deploy a professional moderator. Additionally to elaborating the main strategies, this paper will discuss related literature. This paper will be useful to anyone interested in working in interdisciplinary teams on SD or wanting to enable others to do so.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Work and Organizational Psychology, University of Hamburg, Von-Melle-Park 11, 20146, Hamburg, Germany

    Mirjam Braßler & Miriam Block

Authors
  1. Mirjam Braßler
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  2. Miriam Block
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Correspondence to Mirjam Braßler .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. FTZ-ALS, HAW Hamburg , Hamburg, Germany

    Walter Leal Filho

  2. Department of Biology & CESAM, University of Aveiro , Aveiro, Portugal

    Ulisses M. Azeiteiro

  3. DCSG, CEF, Universidade de Coimbra and Universidade Aberta, PT, Porto, Portugal

    Fátima Alves

  4. Nottingham Business School, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, United Kingdom

    Petra Molthan-Hill

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Braßler, M., Block, M. (2017). Interdisciplinary Teamwork on Sustainable Development—The Top Ten Strategies Based on Experience of Student Initiated Projects. In: Leal Filho, W., Azeiteiro, U., Alves, F., Molthan-Hill, P. (eds) Handbook of Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development in Higher Education. World Sustainability Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47877-7_5

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