Wicked Problems, Interdisciplinary Approaches

Research results must be shared, spread and enacted if they are to make an impact. Especially in the case of hotly debated policy, social economic and political issues, such as climate change and loss of biodiversity. In this podcast we bring testimonies from Profs. Sonia Senevirante, at the ETH, and Julia Steinberger , from UNIL who put their actions where their research is and undertake activities to lend credibility and a voice to their results. They are what one would call researchers activists. Holding the keynote interventions at this year's ScienceComm 23 Conference they brought an uplifting and empowering perspective on how to do both research and activism, what are the inertial points in the systems that need change and where to look for signs things could budge. We are very grateful for their contributions and hope listeners will find them inspiring.

As Italy showcases a new deal with Albania on refugee centres and more and more people choose to undertake the risky journey over to Europe, we wanted to find out more about how such decisions are made, who is involved in taking them, with what expectations and what outcomes. We invited former and current SNIS grantees who have looked into the detailed picture of migration to tell us more about what they found out. Amongst the highlights of this podcast are the fact that candidates to migration have a broad picture view of the risks and dangers related to it, who are not really likely to dissuade them in a first stage. Also, new schemes of "guest worker" approach appear to be emerging, giving rise to absurd situations.

Academic research and policies on migration are at odds with each other as to what is to be done regarding the series of tensions and crises that have become "normal" on this subject in Europe.In this podcast, three SNIS lead researchers, Profs. Bilgin Ayata, Markus Gerber and Timothy Raeymaekers bring insights on the newest research and policy trends and their potential impacts on the actors involved in migration to and from the EU.The highlights of the discussion focus on the importance of work in the mental and physical wellbeing of persons on a migration path and worrying developments concerning academic researchers' right to access free and complete information for their studies, currently being debated in the EU parliament.

Work: a commodity or a way of being in the world that needs protection, regulations and standards? The debate is two centuries old and still raging. Listen to Prof. Jean Michel Bonvin, Prof. Jean Christophe Graz and Dr. Nicola Cianferoni explain what still needs to be done about work, social dialigue and standards and how their SNIS funded projects shed light on current challenges. SNIS Projects featured: The gig economy and its social implications and Governance by Contract

What makes climate change a wicked problem, and how do we untangle it? And more importantly, how do we speed things up? To fully grasp the complexity of the issue, let us take a step back and talk about the different interlocking levels that make this challenge so incredibly hard to tackle. In this second episode of the SNIS podcast, we will discuss the many facets of the climate crisis together with our three expert guests: Regina Betz (Zurich University of Applied Sciences), Marlene Kammerer (University of Bern), and Vally Koubi (ETH Zurich). Join us to tune in to their unique insights on climate-induced migration, nationally determined contributions, and political will. This podcast builds on the interdisciplinary research funded by the Swiss Network for International Studies. The relevant SNIS projects for this episode can be accessed via the following links Carbon Markets Design , Climate Negotiations , Role of Urbanisation in Conflict Processes

Tune in to the first episode of our series, in which Prof. Jaya Krishnakumar and Prof. Ugo Panizza talk about how interdisciplinarity helped them become better researchers of their subjects: debt and economics. But also how interdisciplinarity is a challenge for researchers at the beginning of their careers. SNIS projects featured in this podcast: Impact of Globalization on Opportunities for Human Development. and Debt in the aftermath of the pandemic