In BIODIFUL, we have a Whatsapp group. As you are probably spammed by myriad messages from your work, leisure or hobby related WA groups, this might not seem too newsworthy. However, the content of our WA group reflects our attempt to break down siloes, both between the different research fields and between out theoretical knowledge and our everyday experiences.
It started with Ilari. We business scholars kept wondering how anyone can notice every tiny insect when running, as we kept getting beautiful pictures of weird looking bugs (with long descriptions and stories included) into our group chat. Soon we found out that there are many eager twitchers in our midst, as we started to learn about birds. In time, also us non-biologists started to venture an image or two about the various creepy-crawlies we encountered, and now the chat is a proper cornucopia of a wide variety of plants, animals, birds, insects and mushrooms, each accompanied not only by an explanation any AI could give you, but by actual stories and discussions enriching the way we all have come to view the environment we live in.
Not only have we social scientists learned to notice the richness of life around us, but the natural scientists have also borrowed our lenses when for example reading newspapers, insightfully applying ideas from for example consumer research. This cross-pollination of our everyday experiences has started to color also our research collaboration – we find it constantly easier to bring together research insights from both natural and social sciences.
The theme for our next year is thus bringing down the siloes. We will share the fruits in our blogs, seminars and events, and can already propose that you save a couple of dates to join our discussions: our next BIODIFUL Leadership Forum will take place on May 20th 2026, followed by BIODIFUL International Research Workshop on May 21st to 22nd 2026.
In the meanwhile, we would like to wish you a good summer with a challenge: how many new species can you notice this summer?
Have a good summer!
BIODIFUL
