Interdisciplinary Studies in the Humanities

The future of interdisciplinarity in higher education: experiences of medical universities in Iran

Document Type : Original Research Paper

Authors

M. Hoseini Moghadam 1
M. Hamidi 2

1 Associate Professor of Futures Studies, Foresight Department, Institute for Social & Cultural Studies, Tehran, Iran

2 Professor of Pharmaceutics, Faculty of Pharmacy, Zanjān University of Medical Sciences, Zanjān, Iran

https://doi.org/10.22035/isih.2022.4642.4586
Abstract
With the growing complexity of current and future world issues, the interconnectedness and, interdependence of thematic areas has become one of the shared norms and practices today. This also has led to the development of interdisciplinary studies in scientific and technological institutions and has become one of the universal trends of policy-making in science, technology and, innovation domains. Climate change, environmental pollution, the steady increase in longevity and aging of societies, global poverty, international financial crises, global diseases, terrorism, addiction and injustice are some of the topics whose foresight is beyond the power of individual and requires thinking, dialogue and cooperation in different specialized fields. The main question is: Which future scenarios can lead to the development of interdisciplinary studies in Iran’s medical universities? Documentary studies, expert panels and brainstorming are some of the methods applied in this research. The findings include: first, interdisciplinary knowledge is identified in response to complex social issues rooted in the present and the future; second, the development of interdisciplinarity in medical sciences requires a process of simultaneous top-down and bottom-up development; third, building a preferable future for the development of interdisciplinary knowledge in Iran's medical sciences involves attention to the facts that shape the subject at different levels from objective to subjective, and, therefore, a range of short-term to long-term approaches, plans and actions to build objectivity and related mindsets.

Keywords

Interdisciplinary
future research
complexity
medical sciences
participation

Subjects

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  • Receive Date 25 December 2021
  • Revise Date 09 March 2022
  • Accept Date 05 May 2022

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