An Early Career Perspective on the Value of Interdisciplinary Training Networks

Abstract

As a global society, we face various challenges that threaten economic, social, and ecological stability and security. Tackling complex global challenges, such as antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and climate change, requires collaboration and the integration of diverse perspectives from across the full spectrum of disciplinary approaches. This requires an increasing number of effective interdisciplinary researchers. In this reflective article, I present a case study narrative based on my own experience to examine how my interactions with an interdisciplinary training scheme (the Medical Research Foundation’s National PhD Training Programme in Antimicrobial Resistance Research (MRF-PhD-AMR Programme)) helped me develop as an interdisciplinary early career researcher. I describe three key interactions I had with the MRF-PhD-AMR Programme during and after my doctoral studies, and how these interactions offered me different opportunities to develop the capacity to effectively navigate interdisciplinary spaces. My reflections help highlight the importance of supporting doctoral and postdoctoral researchers in engaging in training opportunities that cross disciplinary boundaries, to enable them to become more effective interdisciplinary researchers. Funding Acknowledgment My doctoral research exploring antimicrobial usage in UK livestock farming was funded by the Economic and Social Research Council [grant number ES/J500148/1]. My attendance at MRF-PhD-AMR Programme events was funded by the Medical Research Foundation [grant number MRF-145-0004-TPG-AVISO]. At the time of writing, I am employed as a Knowledge Exchange Fellow on the ACCESS (Advancing Capacity for Climate and Environment Social Science) project, which is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council [grant number ES/W00805X/1].