Transdisciplinary Research and Education – Intercultural Endeavours

Network for Transdisciplinary Research of the Swiss Academies for Arts and Sciences (td-net) – president Prof. Jakob Zinsstag (Basel, Switzerland), managing director Theres Paulsen (Bern/Switzerland) and team. Leuphana Universität Lüneburg, Methodenzentrum – Prof. Ulli Vilsmaier (Lüneburg/Germany) and team. The td-net deals as primary Swiss contact point for issues and questions in terms of interand transdisciplinary research and teaching, addressing researchers and funders in this field. Since 2008, it is an initative of the Swiss Academies for Arts and Sciences, but it was founded already in 2000 by the Swiss Academic Society for Environmental Research and Ecology (SAGUF). The network was initiated to support research and research collaboration in all thematic fields – in interaction with the public. Due to the great experience, the td-net has become a very appreciated contact for different questions related to transdisciplinary research methods and tools and is also an important contact for transdisciplinary teaching. Transdisciplinarity (TD) can be defined differently – various definitions shall be deemed as accepted. Shortened and simplified, transdisciplinary research can be described as research including not only academic knowledge but also general expertise. Therewith, also non-academic expertise is