Fragmentation is one of the main characteristics of modernity. Divide and conquer, tends to be the main heuristic to tackle complex problems. It has been a quite successful strategy to develop science and foster technology. However, at the same time it is the source of many unintended and undesirable consequences of human development: from global warming to social inequality. In a highly interconnected world, fragmented thinking is a recipe for disaster because problems arise as unsolvable dilemmas.
The current management of COVID-19 pandemic is a dramatic example. It is widely accepted that complex problems cannot be fully understood from a specific discipline, we say that we need an interdisciplinary way of thinking to tackle them. I think, we need to go even further and approach them from a transdisciplinary perspective. This talk explores the role of universities to promote a trans-disciplinary thinking and acting. To achieve this, their main primary activities of teaching, researching and extension should be redesigned.