Breaking the Silos: Workshop Wrap-Up

On September 24th, 2025, the SHiFT Young Researchers Council (YRC) hosted “Breaking the Silos: A Workshop on Interdisciplinary Collaboration”, an online event designed for early-career researchers and professionals reflecting the mission of the COST Association to empower young researchers and innovators to work across disciplines and borders.

With 20 registrants representing diverse countries and fields, over the course of two hours we created a dynamic space to:

Connect across disciplines
Tackle the real-world challenge of climate-resilient communities
Reflect with inspiring mentors from the SHiFT network on the value of interdisciplinary collaboration

Highlights from the Workshop

Participants engaged in hands-on activities that challenged them to break disciplinary silos, including speed networking to explain their research across fields, and group work to co-design project ideas. Together, they explored how enhancing community resilience can be addressed more effectively through interdisciplinary collaboration.

A Heartfelt Thank You

We are deeply grateful to our mentors Martine Legris Revel, Alexandra Revez, and Michele Pezzagno for sharing their personal experiences with interdisciplinary collaboration building directly on the ideas developed by the early-career participants.

Special thanks also go to everyone who registered, joined, or supported the event. Within the YRC, we’d like to acknowledge Barbara M. Frigione for designing and facilitating the workshop, Ferlanda Luna and Maria Viota for their active participation, Larissa Houston for technical support, and Joana Ralão together with Larissa for coordinating the Virtual Mobility Grant, without which this workshop would not have been possible.

What’s Next?

For interdisciplinary career inspiration, listen to the SHiFT YRC Podcast!

All episodes are available on Spotify and Youtube

Want to join us?

If you’re an early-career researcher or professional eager to be part of an interdisciplinary community, join the Young Researchers Council (YRC) of the SHiFT COST Action! Contact us at cost.shift.yrc@gmail.com

Missed the workshop?
The full recording is available on the SHiFT COST Action YouTube channel