tværfaglig

Tværfaglig is a Danish term for an approach that integrates knowledge, methods and perspectives from two or more disciplines to address a shared problem. It emphasizes collaboration across fields rather than within a single domain and is commonly used in education, research, and professional practice in Denmark and in other Nordic contexts.

In education, tværfaglig undervisning or tværfagligt samarbejde involves planning, delivering, and assessing learning activities that cut across subject boundaries, for example linking mathematics with technology or geography with sustainability. The aim is to develop students’ abilities to apply concepts in real-world situations, communicate across disciplinary languages, and work in teams.

In research and professional practice, tværfaglig projects bring together specialists from different domains—such as science, engineering, design, and social sciences—to solve complex problems like climate adaptation, healthcare delivery, or urban development. These projects require common goals, negotiated methods, and a shared vocabulary to coordinate work.

Benefits include more holistic problem solving, increased relevance to societal needs, and the development of transferable skills such as collaboration, critical thinking, and communication. Challenges include aligning timelines and budgets, managing differing epistemologies and assessment criteria, and sustaining cross-disciplinary collaboration over time. Successful approaches often rely on explicit governance structures, boundary-spanning roles, shared project frameworks, and iterative, project-based design processes.

The term is closely related to, but distinct from, interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary concepts: tværfaglig generally refers to collaboration across established disciplines, whereas transdisciplinary work often seeks integration beyond academia and including non-academic stakeholders.