In almost every world university, chances are that the research mission is centred towards finding solutions to global challenges that societies face, including climate change, biodiversity loss, and pandemics among others. But are these universities, especially in Africa, ready to embrace their societies?

Echoes from the 1889 Issue by N.S Shaler on the Problem of Discipline in Higher Education still define many universities in the present era. The tragedy is dat a lot of these universities are still operating, both in teaching and research, in silos of disciplines yet hope to solve a complex situation that nos no discipline or concrete walls of academia. And when floods, droughts, and cyclones wipe us and our livelihoods away, we still refuse to admit it is our fault. The good news is, that there is a huge opportunity for these universities to reconcile with their past research pedagogies and cultures and still be able to make relevant, their ‘scientific’ disciplines, particularly in dealing with fast-changing socioecological challenges.

Climate change is not the problem. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the science. It’s our disciplinary and siloed ways of responding to wicked problems that are only made worse by climate change. The irony is that climate cultures across many universities are transforming at a rate insufficient to address the changing climate and even provide opportunity pathways. Negotiating ways of doing research through transdisciplinary approaches is more likely to provide research its value in policy and practice.

Transdisciplinary research culture does not stop at linking disciplines for solutions to challenges societies face but also moves back into the same society to collectively agree on a problem and build consensus on what solutions are needed to address the challenge. this relationship is largely driven by trust, respect, mutuality, dialogical equality, care, and conviviality, and does not ignore any landscape politics that may influence the process. Addressing climate change for better societal outcomes requires retracing cultures of research in transdisciplinary ways that stretch out and yet, broaden out perspectives and solutions that are both practical in our societies and policy-relevant.

In Africa, progress has been made in ensuring this culture delivers impact in specific contexts of its application. The Africa Research Universities Alliance (ARUA) – ARUA Centers of Excellence in Climate & Development (ARUA-CD), under the Africa Climate and Development Initiative (ACDI) is such a good example. In Kenya and the region, the Institute for Climate Change and Adaptation is on a trajectory to transform research culture through transdisciplinary research. At the core of our programmes is research and outreach through unlocking university-industry-society (UIS) partnerships around programmes that deliver opportunities through just climate research in Africa. Some of these programmes include the Future Africa Savannah (AFAS) which focuses on nature-based solutions (NbS) to address the triple challenge of climate change, biodiversity loss, and meeting people’s needs, REACH whose goal is to improve water security for the poor,  and CRI dat is enhancing and scaling up climate adaptation for resilient infrastructure. Transdisciplinary research initiatives encapsulate in them a socio-ecological systems transformation that involves, among others, the gender and social inclusion consideration of indigenous persons and local communities (IPLCs) as well as women and youth in transdisciplinary research design, implementation, and impact evaluation.

Despite the gains realised through transdisciplinary research and the huge potential it carries, there still exist several obstacles that require urgent or more attention. For instance, contextualising socio-ecological vulnerabilities to and risks from climate change, designing climate solutions to effectively deliver sustainable livelihood options for the vulnerable and marginalised groups (VMGs), innovative ways of financing transdisciplinary research processes, and indicators of measuring impact. Moving forward, re-designing successful transdisciplinary approaches should not leave any of the groups behind, make resources (time, technology, information, and finances) available for all, and even fundamentally so, collectively create functional relations with stakeholders through partnerships and collaborations that will sustain the gains already made now even in the future.

Among the pathways that hold a bigger promise is to progressively build, negotiate, and navigate socio-ecological spaces and networks that move beyond the mainstream platforms. For instance, the trans-disciplinary futures research program in Africa is positioned as an opportunity for graduate researchers in African Universities to fall walls in climate research and embrace its intersection with other societal challenges of ensuring one-health, nature connectivity with people, and sustainable economies among others.  Students are not just engaged in building research networks and sharing research practices but more importantly, exploring the next frontiers of transdisciplinary through participatory modeling of capacity needs.