Uncovering design considerations for embedding transdisciplinarity in higher education – an empirical exploration of a transdisciplinary global health program

To address twenty-first century global health challenges, higher education institutions must train future global health leaders in transdisciplinary competencies, promoting diverse knowledge integration and stakeholder collaboration. In response, we redesigned the ‘Global Health’ minor of Vrije University Amsterdam, by embedding a Transdisciplinary Global Health Challenge (TGHC). In this program students from different disciplines, universities, and countries worked with societal partners on real-life global health-related challenges for five months. This article describes the design, implementation, and evaluation of the TGHC, showcasing how educational programs can integrate transdisciplinarity. Through an action-research approach, project progress, and stakeholder experiences were monitored using qualitative methods such as focus group discussions (FGDs), reflections, and narrative documentation. While complex, the transdisciplinary collaboration journey facilitated diverse co-learning experiences and lessons on design considerations. The process led to positive transformations, with students developing competencies in transdisciplinary collaboration, strengthened university-communities ties, and enhanced teaching skills for educators. The study highlights the complexity of shifting to transdisciplinary learning in global health education as well as the need for concerted design and implementation strategies to optimize these models.