This study investigates the process by which interdisciplinary scientific researchers and members of teaching faculty enhance research uptake in higher education in the context of the landscape industry. This field, made up of relatively small, practice-based professional sectors, is undergoing rapid transformation as the importance of carbon sequestration in urban green infrastructure (UGI) has become a top priority to address climate and societal challenges. As industry paradigms evolve, there is an increasing need to bridge the gap between cutting-edge scientific research results and established landscape design and construction practices.
 
The aim of this study is to understand how researchers involved in an interdisciplinary scientific research project on UGI view their role and the process of communicating and disseminating new and significant research results to society, with a particular focus on the higher education of landscape design and construction. Furthermore, the study examines the experiences and perceptions of HE teachers as interpreters and shapers of new scientific knowledge into competency objectives in curricula and pedagogical practices of a degree program in landscape design, construction and management.   
Although the scientific researchers of sustainable UGI are involved in advancing research results to society, their perceptions of this responsibility, as well as their level of engagement, vary. Similarly, although HE teachers of the discipline should play a pivotal role in interpreting new scientific knowledge into education, their role and efforts in this process, as well as the institutional structures that support them, remain insufficiently studied. In order to address this gap, this study investigates the roles and perceptions of both interdisciplinary scientific researchers of UGI and HE teachers of landscape design in new scientific knowledge uptake in education. The challenge is approached through the following research questions: 

 1.) How do researchers engage in the communication and dissemination of new scientific knowledge into higher education, and how do they perceive their role in this process?  

2.) How do HE teachers interpret and integrate new scientific knowledge into curricula and pedagogical practices, and to what extent is their role institutionally recognised and supported? 

The study aligns with several theoretical frameworks, including knowledge co-production (Gibbons et al., 1994), actionable knowledge (St. John & Pasque, 2013), interdisciplinary research (Miller et al., 2008; Leigh & Brown, 2021) and research uptake in higher education (Graham, 2006; Ifeanyi-Obi, 2022). In accordance with the stated theories, knowledge co-production in this study is defined as a process where researchers and practitioners collaborate to generate knowledge that is scientifically robust and practically relevant.   

Previous research has suggested that successful research uptake requires the involvement of both knowledge producers and knowledge beneficiaries. This approach mirrors the concept of open science (Budapest Open Access Initiative, 2002), where knowledge is produced and made accessible and actionable. Furthermore, this study builds on prior work highlighting the challenges in interdisciplinary knowledge exchange, including epistemic disparities and value misalignments. (Bruun et al., 2005; Cronin, 2008; Leigh & Brown, 2021; Durand & Huysentruyt, 2022; Ifeanyi-obi, 2022; Lamberg et al., 2022.)  

The study contributes to European and international discussions on research transfer and sustainable development in higher education. The European context is particularly relevant given the EU's commitment to sustainability and climate action through initiatives such as the European Green Deal (European Commission, n.d.) and Horizon Europe's (n.d.) focus on research impact. By examining the roles and the perceptions of scientific researchers and HE teachers as intermediaries in research uptake, the study drafts a model that can be adapted across different national education systems. The findings contribute to broader discussions on open science and knowledge accessibility, emphasising the importance of participatory research approaches in fostering actionable climate knowledge.  

The study employs a qualitative research design that involves collaborative workshops and semi-structured interviews with interdisciplinary scientific researchers of a sustainable UGI research project and HE teachers of landscape design degree program. Through a series of facilitated co-production workshops, researchers and teachers interact to interpret and adapt novel and significant research findings for pedagogical purposes. The workshops serve as a platform for dialogue, enabling participants to explore how new scientific research can be communicated and disseminated, and finally, integrated into HE curricula and pedagogical practices. Data collection includes audio recordings of individual interviews and collective workshops, transcribed for analysis, and textual data from online repositories and field observations related to the research questions. By focusing on the lived experiences of researchers and teachers engaged in research uptake, the methodology aims to provide a nuanced understanding of the factors influencing successful knowledge transfer in higher education. The qualitative data is analysed using both deductive and inductive content analysis, allowing for the identification of key themes related research results reformulation and co-production into higher education. Ethical considerations are paramount in this study. Participation is voluntary, and all data is anonymised to protect participants' identities. Measures are taken to ensure confidentiality in handling, storing, and disseminating research data, adhering to data protection policies in universities.

The study's preliminary findings highlight the differing roles of scientific researchers' perceptions and actions in the communication and dissemination of research results to society. There is an evident necessity for scientists to adopt a more proactive role in ensuring the long-term implications and impacts of research results. The findings also suggest that HE teachers have an important, and in some ways invisible, role as knowledge brokers, translating and adapting cutting-edge research findings into curricula and pedagogical practices. This implicit role should be made explicit to ensure its recognition and support in institutions. Furthermore, organisational cultures and professional identities may influence how researchers and teachers embrace and act in these roles. Research shows that co-production workshops help to bridge gaps between different subjects, encourage mutual understanding, and support collaborative and boundary-crossing learning among researchers and HE teachers. However, numerous challenges persist, including time constraints, differing epistemic cultures, and the need for institutional recognition of knowledge communication and knowledge translation activities. The study aims to provide actionable recommendations for enhancing research impact in higher education by identifying key factors that promote or hinder the uptake of scientific knowledge into rapidly evolving disciplines. The study's findings contribute to a broader understanding of how open science principles can be operationalised to ensure that climate research findings inform educational curricula in time, equipping future professionals with the knowledge and skills necessary for sustainable development, sooner rather than later.

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