Transdisciplinary processes have been the subject of research since several decades already. Transdisciplinary processes are aimed at solving ill-defined and socially relevant problems. Many researchers have studied transdisciplinary processes and have tried to understand the essentials of transdisciplinarity. Many engineering problems can be characterised as ill-defined and socially relevant, too. Although transdisciplinary engineering cannot widely be found in the literature yet, a transdisciplinary approach is deemed relevant for many engineering problems. With this paper we aim to present an overview of the literature on research into transdisciplinary processes and investigate the relevance of a transdisciplinary approach in engineering domains. After a brief description of past research on transdisciplinarity, implications for engineering research, engineering practice, and engineering education are identified. In all three areas, the current situation is described, while challenges are identified that still exist. The paper ends with a research agenda for transdisciplinary engineering. ... Read more

Transdisciplinary research (TDR) has been the subject of discourse in the past few decades, but has bot been studied much in the context of engineering problems. Many engineering problems can be characterized as ill-defined, like open innovation, adoption of new technology, business development, and the adoption of the Industry 4.0 concept. Transdisciplinary engineering research (TDER) is also performed in large projects by multi-disciplinary teams, as in TDR projects, including stakeholders and people from practice. Such projects may last long, often years. In such large projects, the involved disciplines should include both engineering disciplines as well as disciplines from social sciences. In this paper we address the challenges that exist in adopting a TDER approach. Universities need to prepare students to work in TDER projects. We discuss the current situation in transdisciplinary engineering education (TDEE) and identify challenges that need to be addressed for including TDEE in curricula. The paper ends with a summary and ideas for further research. ... Read more