The Interdisciplinary Symposium is an International event dedicated to inter / transdisciplinarity. It is organized under the framework of the Federation on Environment and Society (FRES) Research Unity (http://fres.univ-corse.fr/) on behalf of the University of Corsica,  CNRS, INRA, INSERM institutions.

The aim of this International Symposium is to explore the benefits of knowledge hybridization through inter and trans-disciplinary researches. Very often, disciplines are only juxtaposed in order to address complex questions but the step beyond multidisciplinarity shows real difficulties for academic researchers. Research ideas proposing interdisciplinarity are harder to fund, do, and publish.

Building up common objects, organizing the contribution of several disciplines, making productive the dialogue between biology, computing and social sciences as well as addressing problems together with non-research actors are obstacles for the expected benefits in terms of knowledge production. Gathering the experiences of numerous colleagues in various contexts may be a way to collectively improve our ability for such risky and challenging approach.

The definition of these hybrid researches is under frequent debates. In the present Symposium, we propose the following distinctions:

• Interdisciplinary researches: interactions where dialogues and exchanges, also include analyzes, concepts and methods of several disciplines that overlap and fit together around commonly defined scientific object.  Around such a common object each discipline develops its point of view and makes it shareable by other colleagues. Naturally, this construction represents significant efforts and risks. The publications derived are both more difficult to write, but also to publish (nowadays only some journals accept this kind of work). Each discipline must emerge stronger to address future complex questions thanks its involvement into interdisciplinarity.
• Transdisciplinary researches: definition of new concepts derived from a common work between researchers from various disciplines together with non-research actors that transcend the initial cognitive borders. This leads to hybridization of existing knowledge, including local or non academic skills. The creation of new knowledge is ideally the result of such practices often oriented by problem-solving. Researchers participating to this kind of setting up may progress toward understanding complex phenomena.

The Scientific Committee welcomes papers on any related topic. Suggested topics (see the corresponding Call for abstract detailed tracks) may include:

• Information Science
• interdisciplinarity in economics
• Global Change 
• Connecting food to place
• Smart Territories and Renewable energy smart grids 
• Emerging Infectious Diseases

Authors of accepted papers will have to present their work at the Symposium. In addition, the papers will be published in the framework of the Symposium.