1. How did your interest in interdisciplinary education develop, and what led you to INTED?
My path into interdisciplinary education began with a realization: here was a field that gave language to challenges and opportunities I had long observed in teaching and learning environments. As an educational professional with extensive experience in STEM education, I have worked closely with both students and teachers, and I have seen how many challenges in learning environments arise from a lack of coherence and communication across disciplines. When I discovered interdisciplinary education as a field of study, everything suddenly made sense. It provided a framework for understanding and improving the complexity of the educational contexts in which we operate. Interdisciplinary concepts have helped me understand why certain challenges arise and how we can address them more effectively.
2. What are your main responsibilities at INTED?
My role covers a wide range of responsibilities, from day-to-day operations to larger educational development projects. A central part of my work is contributing to the development of interdisciplinary teaching principles and supporting academic communities that want to explore or establish interdisciplinary educational initiatives.
Many courses and study programs have different goals, but they share a common need for effective forms of collaboration. INTED serves as an important resource by providing methodology, structure, and academic support. I see INTED as a contributor to the exploration of educational questions and challenges. We have the time and capacity to investigate, test, and share best practices so that interdisciplinary education can become an integrated part of teaching and learning.
3. What do you see as the potential of interdisciplinary education?
Traditionally, we have divided knowledge into categories and disciplines, but reality does not divide itself in the same way. Interdisciplinary education creates space for questions and challenges that require multiple perspectives and forms of understanding simultaneously. It helps students and educators navigate complexity and prepares us for a world in which this ability is increasingly essential.
4. Is it difficult to implement interdisciplinary education?
Both yes and no. When we introduce greater complexity through multiple disciplines and perspectives, it becomes more challenging to design coherent learning experiences. Universities are traditionally organized around academic disciplines, and working across these boundaries can be difficult. Creating strong interdisciplinary programs therefore requires both structural and cultural change.
5. Why is INTED important, and how does the center support educational offerings at UiO?
We have the space to explore. By having dedicated resources, we can work in depth, build expertise, and support academic communities that want to experiment with new approaches. For me, it is primarily about building culture, community, and a shared language around interdisciplinary teaching.
We aim to create arenas where academic communities can learn, explore, and develop together. This includes offering support and consultation to environments facing specific challenges, as well as contributing to course design and educational development processes. Equally important is establishing meeting places for discussion, reflection, and the sharing of experiences, along with organizing workshops and other capacity-building activities.
INTED also runs the Interdisciplinary Facilitator Program, which provides learning assistants with tools they can use to support interdisciplinary learning environments. Taken together, our work contributes to building a robust, sustainable, and knowledge-based system for interdisciplinary education at the University of Oslo.
6. With interdisciplinarity on the rise, what do you see as the future of higher education?
Higher education reflects both the frontiers of research and the needs of society. As research increasingly highlights complex challenges that require interdisciplinary perspectives, it is important that our educational programs do the same. An important realization for me is that we should not pursue interdisciplinarity simply for its own sake, but because of a genuine desire to explore and understand truth.