UCalgary undergraduate students work across disciplines and with their community

Their research projects were diverse and broad, from integrating ethics into technical curriculums, to designing AI solutions for neurodiverse students, to finding everyday ways of supporting youth caught in legal systems, and more. 

What the undergraduate students had in common was their involvement in transdisciplinary research at the University of Calgary. 

This year, the Institutes for Transdisciplinary Scholarship supported 11 students completing transdisciplinary research in the Program for Undergraduate Research Experience (PURE).  

PURE, supported by the Office of Signature Learning Experiences, is one of several undergraduate research summer studentships undergrads can apply for, including the Undergraduate Student Research Awards (USRA) and Alberta Innovates Summer Research Studentships (AISRS).

Transdisciplinary research is an important avenue for helping undergrads learn how knowledge is built across fields and why diverse perspectives matter, says Dr. Victoria Fast, PhD, associate professor in the Faculty of Arts. Fast will moderate a student panel on Sept. 23 for the Celebration of Undergraduate Research Experiences. 

Dr. Fast was a supervisor for Lisa Rotzal, an AISRS participant who worked with a team of writers and contributors to create an open educational resource called Mapping Urban IDEAS. The resource integrates disability perspectives into geographic information system (GIS) and mapping curriculum.

Fast adds, “In our project, we brought together diverse voices from architecture, biology, computer science, education, geography, human physiology, and urban planning. For Lisa, this meant learning to collaborate with a diverse team, to listen deeply, and to appreciate how different disciplines approach complex problems. It’s the kind of experience that sticks, because the problems students will face after graduation rarely fit neatly into one discipline.”

“The final product will be widely shared and used, but what stood out most was the process: working together, learning from each other, and elevating disabled perspectives in mapping and GIS education,” Fast says.

“Supervising meant I got to guide Lisa, but also learn alongside her which makes the experience both impactful and rewarding.”

Keep reading to meet the ITS-funded students, learning about what transdisciplinary scholarship means to them and what they learned from working with the community. 

Austin Bender

Werklund School of Education
Project title: Beyond the Binary: Social Justice in Software Engineering

To me, transdisciplinary scholarship means bridging the gap between distinct fields, in my case, sociology, education, and software engineering, to address complex problems that no single discipline can solve alone. This approach was vital for my project, which aims to help integrate social justice and ethics into technical curriculums.

While logistical hurdles have paused the final community engagement stage of my project, the research and design process has reinforced a crucial lesson for me: the importance of advocating for a more human-centered approach to technology. It solidified my belief that we must see users as people, not just data points, to build a more equitable and inclusive tech ecosystem.

Harmeen Dhaliwal

Haskayne School of Business
Project title: Designing AI Solutions for Neurodiverse Students in Education

To me, transdisciplinary scholarship is about using concepts, methods, and perspectives from various academic fields to take on real-world issues in a more comprehensive way. My project draws on education, psychology, and technology, while also valuing the lived experiences of students, acknowledging that no one discipline holds all the answers. By blending these perspectives, I was able to gain a deeper insight into both the practical and human implications of AI in higher education.

I’ve learned that students aren’t simply looking for short cuts or convenience when they use AI. They’re often filling gaps left by traditional academic supports. Listening to their stories revealed the significant, often unacknowledged, effort students invest to adapt to systems that weren’t designed with their needs in mind.

Romeo Gallimore

Faculty of Arts, Werklund School of Education
Project title: Ordinary Magic: Supporting Legally Involved Youth Through Interagency Collaboration 

To me, transdisciplinary scholarship means mobilizing knowledge across disciplines to ask questions and uncover solutions that no single field could address alone. Blending education, social work, and law in my PURE project revealed how systemic forces shape the legal experiences of youth, and how schools and communities can respond more effectively. I’ve learned that meaningful change happens when institutions, professionals, and those directly affected work together. This kind of collaborative support, which I refer to in my project as “ordinary magic,” shows how everyday systems and the people around us can create transformative change.

Andrea Garcia Jimenez

Werklund School of Education
Project title: Bring the outdoors in, take the learning outside

To me, transdisciplinary scholarship means taking a holistic approach that examines a problem from multiple perspectives and uses the strengths of each to find solutions. In my research project, drawing from various fields related to nature-based/outdoor education helped me highlight the unique benefits each perspective brings to students’ learning. Being part of the transdisciplinary community also allowed me to learn from my peers’ multifaceted approaches and unique ways of seeing the world, which inspired new ideas for my own research and showed me the broader impact transdisciplinary work can have.

Rafa Iqbal

Faculty of Arts
Project title: Navigating Mental Health Abroad: Experiences of International Students at the University of Calgary

To me, transdisciplinary scholarship means bringing together diverse perspectives, methods, and expertise to address complex challenges that no single field can solve alone. In my PURE research on the mental health experiences of international students, this approach was essential. Here, cultural, social, and institutional factors shape not only how students experience stress, but also how they seek and access support.

Working with the community taught me the power of truly listening. Not just to gather information, but to understand the challenges and resilience behind each story, revealing insights that academic research alone might overlook.

Fatima Jarid

Faculty of Arts
Project title: Organizational Change in the Age of Truth and Reconciliation

To me, transdisciplinary scholarship is about breaking down walls, between fields, between people, and between ways of knowing. It’s not just about combining disciplines, it’s about creating space for new conversations and perspectives that wouldn’t exist otherwise. In my research, which explores organizational development and change frameworks within Industrial-Organizational psychology, a transdisciplinary approach was essential. These frameworks are shaped by context, culture, and human behavior. By applying an inductive realist review and using a context-mechanism-outcome model, I was able to draw from multiple fields to better understand not just what works, but why and for whom. That kind of insight only comes when you’re willing to look beyond the limits of one discipline. 

One thing I’ve learned is that clarity and relevance matter deeply, especially when your work is meant to inform real-world change. While my project is literature-based, engaging with my supervisor, mentors and peers helped me realize that the frameworks I’m analyzing aren’t just theoretical, they’re tools that organizations use to navigate real challenges. This reminded me that research should be accessible and actionable. It’s not just about synthesizing ideas, but about making sure those ideas can actually help people lead, adapt, and grow. That perspective has shaped how I approach my work and how I think about its impact beyond academia.

Kale Lazarick

School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape 
Project title: Mapping Accessibility: Sidewalk Conditions and Economic Impacts on Downtown Calgary

I want to improve sidewalk accessibility for the lives of differently abled people with varying degrees of mobility challenges. My research intersects at combining insights from urban design, finance innovation, and critical cartography to address accessibility across greater downtown Calgary. A transdisciplinary approach allows for a broader scope of understanding and fosters greater collaboration across disciplines, creating more inclusive, economically sound, and data-driven strategies for improving accessibility.

I have found so much support not only through my supervisor but also through my peers and other faculty members at SAPL. I’ve learned that mistakes are okay, and everything doesn’t always go smoothly when doing research, but that’s all part of the process. In the end it only helps you learn and develop for future research projects.

Meghan McNaughton

Cumming School of Medicine
Project title: Influence of Maternal Language and Child Brain Development on Learning

I am a fourth-year Health and Society major, and my research explores how maternal language affects early childhood development, specifically in terms of learning outcomes and maturation of the developing brain. 

Early childhood is a critical period where families, schools, and communities influence how children learn and engage with the world. Transdisciplinary research allows for meaningful and collaborative knowledge production that creates solutions relevant to the wider community. Through the integration of knowledge from fields of neuroscience, developmental psychology, and early childhood education, we aim to better understand this critical developmental period. Our research aims to support early interventions that promote healthy child development. Through this work, I have learned the importance of fostering transdisciplinary research that is meaningful to both academic and non-academic partners.

Harschale Sharma

Cumming School of Medicine
Project title: Co-Designing/Implementing Canadian Practice Guidelines for Transitions for Eating Disorders

To me, transdisciplinary scholarship means integrating knowledge, methods, and perspectives from different disciplines to address complex real-world issues. During my summer research on Family-Based Treatment (FBT) for adolescent eating disorders, this approach was crucial because the issue is multifaceted. One key thing I learned is the importance of cultural sensitivity and adaptability in treatment approaches to ensure they are effective across diverse communities.

We also want to acknowledge:  

• Yasmine Baccari, Schulich School of Engineering, Project title: City of Calgary EV Readiness Plan
• Nina Kolakovic, Faculty of Social Work, Project title: Barriers and Facilitators to Effective Palliative Care in Indigenous Communities

Interested in undergraduate research summer studentships?

Join us on Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2025, at the Celebration of Undergraduate Research Experiences to learn about and hear from PURE and USRA students about their experiences!

Attend the panel discussion in-person or virtually. Register here.