Leicester Institute for Advanced Studies explores interdisciplinary research one step at a time through the power of walking
(Credit: Amy McKay)
A new University of Leicester project hopes to explore the ‘power of walking’ and how it impacts academics’ research processes.
Interdisciplinary Walks has been funded by the Leicester Institute for Advanced Studies (LIAS) and set out to encourage research staff from across the University to ‘think outside their own disciplinary silos’.
The project, led by Dr Anna McKay, sees 29 researchers interviewed from across all three of the University’s Colleges on how walking has become an integral part of their research process.
It aimed to understand how walking and thinking played a part in the interdisciplinary research happening across the University.
Dr McKay collaborated with illustrator, Amy McKay to develop a map of the University of Leicester campus for researchers to use.
Web content including edited audio recordings of consultations and accompanying transcripts and six visualisations of the audio clips was created by the visual storytelling agency, Nifty Fox Creative.
The findings of the study suggest that walking is seen as an integral part of daily life and a highly valuable element within the research process.
University of Leicester researchers said that walking was a ‘circuit-breaker’ and a necessary interruption to desk working.
Interviewed academics said that walking was a way to relieve tension, mull over thoughts and clarify research ideas.
All staff members interviewed as part of the project said that Leicester’s parks and green spaces were integral to researchers’ walking and thinking practice and a general sense of well-being.
Dr McKay said: “This was a fascinating project. We set out with the simple aim of encouraging researchers to work together, and get outside and enjoy the varied walks that Leicester has to offer.
“Quite soon we realised just how important academics felt walking was to their research practice.”
Professor Clare Anderson, Director of The Leicester Institute for Advanced Studies, said: “We began this project as a way of thinking about how researchers from different colleges, schools and departments could connect with each other to undertake exciting new interdisciplinary work.
“What we had not anticipated was what our research community would tell us about the importance of walking itself as a means of inspiring work that reaches beyond disciplinary silos.”
The Interdisciplinary Walks project will be launched at the University of Leicester on 25 October at 4pm. More information about the event can be found here.