Interdisciplinary Walks 2022 – Leicester Institute for Advanced Studies

Interdisciplinary Walks Project

The Interdisciplinary Walks project was funded by LIAS in 2022. The project encourages staff members to think outside their disciplinary silos whilst getting familiar with University of Leicester surroundings, from the main and north campus to the School of Business at Brookfield and the Space Park.

Working with an illustrator, LIAS created three walking routes that link disciplines and introduces researchers to Leicester’s parks and green spaces, and campus architectural highlights.

Interviews with 29 staff members discussing their interdisciplinary research highlights, the challenges and benefits of interdisciplinary working, and their favourite walks, are available to listen or read here.

Research Associate: Dr Anna McKay.

Interdisciplinary Walks booklet

The benefits of interdisciplinary research are manifold; by breaking down the silos that have traditionally been a feature of higher education, academics can become more innovative, and bid for more ambitious research funding. The departments highlighted in the Interdisciplinary Walks project have a rich history of collaboration and discovery and are leading examples of how researchers can work together and form a strong and supportive community.

LIAS designed three walking routes to encourage researchers to think outside their own disciplinary silos whilst getting familiar with University of Leicester surroundings, from the main campus, to the School of Business at Brookfield, and the Space Park. Each route reveals more about the interdisciplinary research and collaborations taking place across the University whilst promoting exploration of its unique architecture, alongside Leicester’s parks, waterways, and green spaces.

This booklet can be printed or downloaded. A text-only version is available below.

Length guide: Individual times will vary depending on walking pace. Short: Can be completed in less than 30 minutes. Medium: Can be done during a lunch hour. Long: Over one hour.

Interdisciplinary Walks booklet Download pdf

Interdisciplinary-Walks-booklet-text Download WPS. FILE

Design: Amy McKay.

Route 1: Campus

On this walk, discover the historic architecture of the University of Leicester’s main campus, including the distinctive Attenborough Tower and Engineering Building, and finish with a stroll through Victoria Park.

This route can be printed or downloaded. A text-only version of the route is available below.

ROUTE1 Download pdf

Route-1 Download wps. file

Route 2: Brookfield

Walk along the perimeter of the campus and through leafy Victoria Park towards the peace and tranquility of Brookfield and the Botanic Garden.

This route can be printed or downloaded. A text-only version of the route is available below.

ROUTE2 Download PDF

Route-2-text Download WPS. file

Route 3: Space Park

Enjoy the Georgian splendour of New Walk before a waterside walk along Leicester’s River Soar and Grand Union Canal, crossing through the formal gardens of Abbey Park towards Space Park Leicester.

This route can be printed or downloaded. A text-only version of the route is available below.

ROUTE3 Download PDF

Route-3-text Download WPS. file

Key – University Buildings

University-Buildings Download

Nifty Fox Visualisations

Working with visual storytelling agency Nifty Fox Creative, LIAS commissioned six visualisations of audio clips.

Professor Manish Pareek

Dr Winfred Onyas

Professor Mark Jobling

Professor Martha Clokie

Professor Hiuyu Zhou

Dr Alice Tilche

Working Paper: Interdisciplinary Walks

The Interdisciplinary Walks project, funded by the Leicester Institute for Advanced Studies (LIAS) between May and July 2022, set out to encourage staff members to think outside their own disciplinary silos whilst getting familiar with University of Leicester surroundings, from the main and north campus to the School of Business at Brookfield, and the Space Park.

Consultations with 29 members of staff asking about their interdisciplinary research and favourite walks were conducted via Zoom and recorded for use on the WordPress site. Intended outputs from the Interdisciplinary Walks project included an A5 map (with a print run of c.500 copies) drawn by illustrator Amy McKay; and web content including edited audio recordings of consultations and accompanying transcripts, and six visualisations of the audio clips created by visual storytelling agency Nifty Fox Creative.

This working paper provides an overview of the project as it progressed, with the final sections reflecting upon the benefits and challenges of interdisciplinary research and the value of walking and thinking as viewed by academic researchers.

The consultations recognised the importance of access to parks and green spaces, and identified four key walking behaviours: walking alone, together, to disconnect, and to focus. The project concludes that by understanding individual preferences in how we walk, researchers can harness the potential of walking as a tool to improve mind, body, and research.

Author: Dr Anna McKay, Research Associate.

Access the LIAS Working Paper here (Vol. 9, 2022): https://journals.le.ac.uk/ojs1/index.php/lias/article/view/4112

Dr Tammy Ayres, School of Criminology

Tammy Ayres discusses her interdisciplinary research and favourite walk in Leicester

Dr Tammy Ayres is Associate Professor in Criminology in the School of Criminology.

Read Tammy and Dylan Kerrigan’s blog post, ‘Does Interdisciplinary Methodology Really Work?’ from the MNS Disorders in Guyana’s Jails project here: https://mnsguyana.le.ac.uk/2022/07/14/interdisciplinary-working/