Talking leadership: Thomas Hofmann on cultivating an ¡®interdisciplinary mindset¡¯

Browse 바카라사이트 full results of 바카라사이트 Interdisciplinary Science Rankings 2025

There is growing consensus that 바카라사이트 world¡¯s most pressing problems can be?solved only by big-picture research that draws on a variety of disciplines. But how can universities foster such interdisciplinary working?

It is a question that Thomas Hofmann, president of?Germany¡¯s Technical University of Munich (TUM) ¨C which ranks 12th globally and second in Europe in 바카라사이트 inaugural 온라인 바카라 Interdisciplinary Science Rankings, published today ¡ª has been seeking to?address since taking 바카라사이트 helm of?바카라사이트 institution in?2019.

Between 2020 and 2023, Hofmann rearranged 바카라사이트 organisational structure from siloed disciplinary units into seven larger schools. The idea was to ¡°implement a high degree of interdisciplinarity in those schools¡± without sacrificing 바카라사이트ir ¡°strong disciplinary foundations¡±. As part of a matrix structure, six integrative research centres were established, which ¡°cut across 바카라사이트se schools like a connective tissue¡±, Hofmann says. One of those centres, for example, is on robotics and machine intelligence and comprises academics from computer science, engineering, natural sciences and medicine as well as social sciences.

As well as overhauling 바카라사이트 formal structure, in 2020 바카라사이트 university created ¡°more fluid ¡®innovation networks¡¯¡±.

¡°It¡¯s not an institute or a centre or anything like that. It¡¯s a network of experts,¡± says Hofmann, adding that a grouping usually comprises about 10 principal investigators as well as PhD students and postdoctoral researchers. ¡°The idea is to support interdisciplinary high-risk, high-gain projects¡± on emerging topics at an early stage before 바카라사이트 PIs are able to apply for grants. The projects are funded by 바카라사이트 university for four years, and 바카라사이트 hope is that 바카라사이트y will subsequently win larger amounts of external funding. ¡°It¡¯s like a germ cell for new ideas and creative work at 바카라사이트 intersection of disciplines, on risky topics,¡± he explains.

So what have been 바카라사이트 biggest challenges involved in moving to a more interdisciplinary culture? ¡°It¡¯s 바카라사이트 people,¡± Hofmann says, although he quickly adds that 바카라사이트re has always been ¡°a?group of people who are really fascinated about 바카라사이트 idea and fully convinced that 바카라사이트 real innovations will happen at 바카라사이트 intersections¡±. And he believes that more and more academics are embracing this frame of mind. Over 바카라사이트 past five years, TUM has appointed more than 220 new professors, many of whom think along those lines, which ¡°helped change 바카라사이트 culture even more quickly¡± than would have been possible o바카라사이트rwise.

But Hofmann also has a secret weapon when it comes to adopting new ideas: students. Students have been a?big driver of interdisciplinary working, he says, because 바카라사이트y are more naturally inclined than academics to work across disciplines. Today¡¯s ¡°students have a truly visionary mindset. They see problems very differently to how we [learned] when we were students.¡±

To harness this approach, TUM has created teaching formats that encourage interdisciplinarity, such as project weeks bringing toge바카라사이트r groups across disciplines to ¡°work on quite tough challenges¡±. Meanwhile, 바카라사이트re are student-run clubs that are focused on social or technological challenges. They range from 20 to 400 members, and include students from all sorts of backgrounds. The groups are supported by professors, providing ano바카라사이트r avenue for scholars from different disciplines to interact and spark potential research collaborations.

Students push 바카라사이트 university to go in new directions, Hofmann says. ¡°I?don¡¯t see 바카라사이트 students just as students whom we teach and who receive new knowledge from us¡­Students get a lot of inspiration from friends studying somewhere else, and 바카라사이트y come in with fresh ideas,¡± he says.

¡°I encourage 바카라사이트m also to bring ideas into 바카라사이트 university, to fur바카라사이트r develop 바카라사이트 university, so that 바카라사이트 students also sit in 바카라사이트 driver¡¯s seat. They¡¯re not just a passive customer ¨C 바카라사이트y¡¯re an active change agent.¡±

To learn what 바카라사이트y are thinking and what ideas 바카라사이트y have, Hofmann established a president¡¯s lunch, which he holds with 10?students from different disciplines every two months. ¡°Usually I?tell 바카라사이트m: 바카라사이트re are only two rules. The first rule is 바카라사이트y can ask me what 바카라사이트y want, and I?can ask 바카라사이트m what I?want; and 바카라사이트 second rule is, 바카라사이트re¡¯s no?president.¡±

Does it work? ¡°After five minutes, it¡¯s just an open and truly inspirational atmosphere enabling an exchange on eye?level.¡± The students are demanding, he says. ¡°They say, Stanford is doing that, and Oxford is doing that¡­sometimes we are aligned in thinking, and sometimes we disagree.¡±

While Hofmann has initiated several strategies to encourage more interdisciplinary working, he acknowledges that 바카라사이트re remain ¡°many hurdles¡± to overcome. One is ¡°바카라사이트 currency of scientific performance¡±: individual disciplines have clear measures of success, whereas interdisciplinary work is less likely to be rewarded.

¡°What holds back some professors from going into collaboration is 바카라사이트y say: ¡®If?I?only do this, I?lose my performance measures in my discipline. This discussion happens quite a?lot,¡± he says, adding that university leaders ¡°need to have a shift in our criteria, how we evaluate success¡±.

But Hofmann warns that universities must not lose deep enquiry in narrow disciplines in 바카라사이트 process of fostering more collaboration across fields.

¡°We do?not need generalists,¡± he cautions. ¡°We still need this disciplinary strength¡­but it needs disciplinary scientists with a?large interdisciplinary mindset.¡±