Health Futures Lab -Transdisciplinary development of T shaped professionals through wicked problem challenges

It is clear that significant differences in approach and enquiry are apparent between the established disciplines of Design, Engineering, Business and Health Sciences. The attempt to tackle Wicked Problems (Rittel and Webber 1973) has become a challenge for universities and policy makers throughout the world yet we are only beginning to appreciate the impact that transdisciplinary collaboration can have. This paper outlines a case study in transdisciplinary education which sought to contextualise and address some of the wicked problems surrounding the health and wellbeing of the people in an urban environment, using Limerick city, Ireland as a test bed. The Health Futures Lab was a pilot initiative that brought recently graduate students from Interactive Media, Engineering, Product Design, Architecture, Economics, Marketing and Health Sciences together with a view to applying their professional skills and competencies in a transdisciplinary manner. The lab ran for a six week period in the summer of 2014 and was situated in the heart of the city with facilitation and expert mentoring from university faculty, community advocates and a wide variety of community stakeholders. This case study examines the benefits and challenges of transdisciplinary labs as a method for addressing complex social problems and provides an example of how graduates can use their specialist knowledge while at the same time collaborating across disciplines for maximum effect.     Rittel, H. W., and Webber, M. M., 1973. Dilemmas in a general theory of planning. Policy Sciences, 4 (2), 155-169.