Radical innovation: crossing knowledge boundaries with ...

order to obtain funding and employment prospects for the graduates. In this respect,
they might be regarded as a kind of disciplinary evolution, stepping outside of
existing departmental structures only because of the structural constraints that can
make it hard to modify existing degree courses.
An alternative view on the training of researchers is that they might be given the skills
to respond individually to unanticipated problems, or trained to enter a research
ecosystem in which different disciplines must work together to address a problem.
This is far more characteristic of interdisciplinary research consortia such as
Equator 42 , rather than more topically focused doctoral training centres. However, it is
worth noting that this focus on ability to respond to problems in an innovative way is
more characteristic of professional preparation than of conventional research training.
The demand for interdisciplinary training of young researchers seems to anticipate a
new role for universities as the providers of professional research services.
When we considered companies whose established business involves the provision of
precisely these kinds of professional research service, such as TTP 43 , we were told
that their approach to recruitment is simply to find people with degrees in two
different disciplines, rather than people who had received specifically
interdisciplinary training. It is often the case that companies prefer to create their own
mix of academic skills, rather than relying on universities to prepared students
through focused cross-disciplinary degree courses. However, the business model of
TTP is a consultancy one (discussed above), and is therefore constrained in terms of
the kinds of innovation expected by their clients. Their recruitment policy may be
primarily oriented toward the characteristics of this particular business.
In all of these cases, we see that education is not a primary driver of interdisciplinary
innovation, but at best responds to the limitations of existing disciplines in meeting
the need of society for professional skills. Academic disciplines play a role in defining
the body of professional knowledge - the mental models that are to be used by
practitioners in that discipline. Both professional and academic disciplines develop
particular styles of discourse, and particular habits of investigation, exploration and
analysis. They also maintain themselves through mechanisms of evaluation by which
a hierarchy of respect can be established among senior individuals, and criteria for
membership can be enforced for the most junior. But ultimately, education is a way of
distinguishing a disciplined professional identity relative to the general public. This
may involve the chartered status conferred by legislation and professional bodies,
which legitimises particular kinds of knowledge. However it also maintains separation
between the discipline of the professional academic, and the kinds of knowledge or
learning that are found outside universities.
42 Expert witness report
43 Expert witness report
Innovation and Interdisciplinarity 69