CUCo is thrilled to present its Fellowship Programme, a one-year learning journey into collaborative leadership in transdisciplinary research. With the Fellowship Programme, CUCo equips early- and mid-career researchers with the virtues, sensibilities and skills to lead unexpected and innovative transdisciplinary collaborations across and beyond the four EWUU institutes.
At CUCo, we use the analogy of the mushroom cycle to discuss what makes
transdisciplinary collaborations successful. This entails stepping outside your
comfort zone, asking different kinds of questions, embracing creativity, and
remaining open to serendipitous encounters. Often, this takes time—much like the
mycelium, the underground network of germinated spores that needs a nurturing
environment before a mushroom can emerge. The same is true for transdisciplinary
work: the real groundwork—finding the right partners, building trust, and developing relationships—usually happens quietly, long before a formal project begins.
In the Fellowship Programme, we focus on actively “growing the mycelium”. However, participants will also learn and practice methods and techniques to lead and monitor collaborations throughout all phases of a project. We will address practical strategies for coordination, facilitation, and decision-making, as well as ways to reflect on and adjust the collaboration as it develops.
