Theme Four. Create interdisciplinary conversations within FIMS, the University, the community, nationally and internationally

Introduction

FIMS was born of a multidisciplinary partnership. Multi- and interdisciplinary conversation allows us to create a research and teaching culture that welcomes people with diverse ways of knowing and making. Deepening our collaborations means welcoming conceptual, physical, and virtual spaces that encourage people with different backgrounds to discover connections. It also requires FIMS to think strategically about who we hire, how we fund research, and how we encourage broad participation through support for students. We model collaborative interdisciplinarity for our students and the community through initiatives like the Health Information Science program and the Creative Arts and Production program, two degrees jointly administered across four different faculties, (FIMS, Health Sciences, Arts & Humanities, and Music). Recognizing that solutions to complex problems often come from outside the academy and that we may not understand their full scope until we engage broadly, we look forward to community partnerships and critical conversations at the University’s new site in London’s downtown core.

Relation to Western Strategic Plan: 2. Stimulate our research, scholarship, and creative activity; 3. Achieve Western’s teaching and learning goals; 4. Enrich Western’s student experience; 6. Concentrate on place; 7. Engage the world beyond our London campus