There is a gap between scientific information generated by researchers and the needs of society to address today’s increasingly complex environmental problems. And there has been frustration on both sides: researchers want to see the result of their efforts being used, and decision makers need relevant information to assist in planning and practice.

A unique new University of Arizona training program is designed to close that gap: Transdisciplinary Environmental Science for Society (TESS) is a three-course online program created by University of Arizona faculty Dr. Dan Ferguson, Dr. Gregg Garfin, Dr. Mónica Ramirez-Andreotta and Dr. Connie Woodhouse.

Science for All Our Sakes

Environmental issues such as climate change, resource management and environmental contamination don’t have easy solutions, says Dr. Mónica Ramirez-Andreotta:

“You can’t solve these challenges by yourself. And you can’t solve them with one discipline, and you can’t solve them with one type of stakeholder. Though it sounds simple to bring people together, it is not.”

In their own work, Drs. Ferguson, Garfin, Ramirez-Andreotta and Woodhouse saw that collaboration across academic disciplines and between science and practice was critical to successful environmental problem-solving. They also saw that bringing people together to solve problems isn’t easy, and there was little or no training available to teach people how to do so.

They designed TESS to equip participants with the practical skills they need to improve collaboration between scientific researchers, leaders, community members and others who want to address society’s increasingly complex environmental problems.

About the Program

TESS is a three-course online program. The first TESS course, Fundamentals of Transdisciplinary Research, runs from September 23-October 20, 2019. This introductory course teaches participants about:

• the role of transdisciplinary environmental research, a problem-solving approach that includes collaboration between researchers and stakeholders
• how to engage in collaborative, inclusive environmental problem-solving

Upcoming TESS courses will cover strategies for collaborative research and communication skills.

Participants who successfully complete each course will receive a digital badge and will be eligible to receive 2 continuing education units (CEUs) per course.

Fee: $500 per course (10% discount available for military and for University of Arizona faculty, staff and students).