Training the next generation of plastics pollution researchers: tools, skills and career perspectives in an interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary field

Abstract

Plastics pollution research attracts scientists from diverse disciplines. Many Early Career Researchers (ECRs) are drawn to this field to investigate and subsequently mitigate the negative impacts of plastics. Solving the multi-faceted plastic problem will always require breakthroughs across all levels of science disciplinarity, which supports interdisciplinary discoveries and underpins transdisciplinary solutions. In this context, ECRs have the opportunity to work across scientific discipline boundaries and connect with different stakeholders, including industry, policymakers and the public. To fully realize their potential, ECRs need to develop strong communication and project management skills to be able to effectively interface with academic peers and non-academic stakeholders. At the end of their formal education, many ECRs will choose to leave academia and pursue a career in private industry, government, research institutes or non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Here we give perspectives on how ECRs can develop the skills to tackle the challenges and opportunities of this transdisciplinary research field and how these skills can be transferred to different working sectors. We also explore how advisors can support an ECRs’ growth through inclusive leadership and coaching. We further consider the roles each party may play in developing ECRs into mature scientists by helping them build a strong foundation, while also critically assessing problems in an interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary context. We hope these concepts can be useful in fostering the development of the next generation of plastics pollution researchers so they can address this global challenge more effectively. Graphical Abstract

Breaching boundaries: reflections on the journey towards a transdisciplinary arts and sciences undergraduate degree programme to address global challenges

“…From inter-disciplinary to trans-disciplinary While the key principles of an inter-disciplinary approachmultiple disciplines working together with a set of goals under a thematic umbrella-have important parallels with our approach, we embrace opportunities to cross-disciplinary and sectoral boundaries to explore, gain inspiration and potential solutions from a diversity of concepts and expertise, to provide a holistic and integrated response (Mitrano et al, 2023). We use 'transdisciplinary' as a key and contested term because of the link we wish to make with a reconsideration of knowledge-making within the university as not limited to conventional natural, social, scientific and humanities methods but one that embraces other sectors.…”