Biannual - intensive one week block course for BSc and MSc level
Forthcoming in the academic winter term 2019/20.
Background
Practitioners (e.g. farmers, livestock keepers, traders) and other local stakeholders (e.g. governmental or NGO staff) have differentiated and experiential knowledge on their respective activity systems, e.g. farming, trade business, aid work. This knowledge is commonly called local knowledge. Transdisciplinary research aims at integrating local knowledge with knowledge from scientists in order to find solution to complex real world problems. This complementary use of different knowledge sources is of particular importance in the field of development-oriented research and extension dealing with (smallholder) agricultural production systems.
Content of the course
The one week intensive course addresses the following questions: - Which knowledge do practitioners and other societal stakeholders hold, that is of interest to scientists when dealing with complex problems? - Which are the (cognitive) reasons for differences and complementarities between the knowledge of practitioners and scientists? - Which methods can we use to learn about local knowledge? - How can we integrate knowledge from different sources in a transdisciplinary research project?
Learning methods
The intensive one-week course emphasizes learning through a mix of lectures, group work, interactive tools and structured discussions. Students from different study programs (Bachelor and Master) are encouraged to actively exchange and reflect on learning content and practical exercises.