Interdisciplinary Research

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This project was designed for my Design workshop class. The goal for my thesis project was to design a resource that could be used for both students and teachers. Interdisciplinarity draws knowledge from two or more academic disciplines into one project. Interdisciplinary studies are about bringing many skills together to come up with a solution to a problem. It is important for students to become aware of the term interdisciplinary and to open the door to team learning for the future. The future is interdisciplinary.

The Problem

Students are not being given the opportunity to work with other disciplines within their program. If they do work in groups it is with students within their program. Teaching students how to do interdisciplinary research before going into their future career will give them the opportunity of learning new skills.

The Solution

To attempt to solve this problem I decided to design a resource page that could potentially be added to the RGD (Registered Graphic Designers) website. The web page includes an introductory video to give a brief idea of what interdisciplinary research is. On this resource page there would be an Interdisciplinary Practical Handbook that could be downloaded. This Handbook is aimed at educating graphic design students and professors so that they will be prepared for future interdisciplinary projects. The handbook was designed to effectively deliver interdisciplinary knowledge and examples. This website also includes four interdisciplinary case study books. The case study books give an insight into different interdisciplinar research teams and how they are coming together to solve a major issue. Each book looks into an individual team study and the process of how the members came together to find interesting discoveries.

INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH: A Practical Handbook

Interdisciplinarity draws knowledge from two or more academic disciplines into one project. Interdisciplinary studies take many skills to come up with a solution to a problem. It is important for students to become aware of the term interdisciplinary and to open the door to team learning for the future. The handbook is meant to inform the different principles involved with interdisciplinary research.

INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH: 3D Printed Coral Reef Case Study

This Handbook looks into the problem of serious amounts of coral dying around the world. The interdisciplinary research handbook shares how a team was able to come together and solve the problem by designing a plan to create 3D printed coral to help restores the ocean's floor. Read more by flipping through the handbook below.

INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH: 3D Prosthetic Case Study

This Handbook looks into the problem of animals being harmed and coming close to death. The interdisciplinary research handbook shares how a team was able to come together and solve the problem by designing a plan to create 3D printed animal prosthetics so that the animals are able to recover properly. Read more by flipping through the handbook below.

INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH: Catching Poachers with Drones

This Handbook looks into the problem of poaching becoming worse every year. The interdisciplinary research handbook shares how a team was able to come together and solve

the problem by coming up with the idea of drones being their birds eye view so they are able

to catch the poachers before any animals are harmed.Read more by flipping through the handbook below.

INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH: Pollinating Drones Case Study

This Handbook looks into the problem of the pollinating species decreasing at a rapid rate. The interdisciplinary research handbook shares how a team was able to come together and solve the problem by coming up with the idea of drones being able to pollinate areas that are unsafe for the pollinating species to be around. Read more by flipping through the handbook below.

INTERDISCIPLINARY WEBSITE

Ideally the interdisciplinary resources would be placed onto a website where you could view/ download the Interdisciplinary Research Practical Handbook and Case Study Research books. This would allow for easy access to learn more about what Interdisciplinary Research is.