ABSTRACT
The goal of interdisciplinarity is to make the barriers which compartmentalize knowledge a good deal more permeable than they usually appear to be. Most participants at Wingspread approached interdisciplinarity through problem focus; that is, by pragmatically relating education, research, and the problems experienced by the community at large. Modification of medical training towards problem focus and interdisciplinarity is occurring in several other countries as well. The university has since evolved a full range of scientific and technical programs to serve national needs, but of primary interest is its program of medical education and extension, which has attracted much acclaim and emulation. Griffith University is a newly established Australian university, which admitted its first students only in 1975. It is an example of an innovative university, problem focused and interdisciplinary. Interdisciplinarity was not a primary motivating force in the foundation of Bochum in 1964–65. The principal academic work at Bochum, including research, takes place in institutes.
