Content level: introductory

Collaboration in higher education isn’t always easy. Without clear expectations, shared ownership, or aligned resources, even well-intentioned teams can struggle or stall.

This session introduced tools and concepts to help participants and their teams overcome these barriers to collaboration. Participants had the opportunity to assess their current collaborations, recognize common breakdowns, and reflect on ways to build structures, relationships, and commitments that support meaningful and productive collaborative efforts.

Presentation deck. (This copy of the presentation includes additional slides on agreement continuums.)

Content level: introductory to intermediate

As teams grow more complex, effective collaboration becomes both more essential and more challenging. Variables such as communication, authorship, and project management can often lead to conflict. So how can teams work together to set clear expectations and enhance productivity?

In this session, you’ll learn collaboration best practices, walk through the planning process, and receive tools to support complex projects. You’ll hear insights and examples from the Institute for Clinical and Translational Research Team Science Core, along with key concepts from the Science of Team Science. The session will conclude with an open discussion on tailoring collaboration to meet the unique needs of all team members.

Content level: introductory

Given all the changes at UW-Madison, many of us are being asked to rethink how we do our work and improve our processes.

This interactive session will walk you through some of the key components of continuous improvement and process mapping. You’ll learn the fundamentals of various process mapping techniques and then be introduced to some advanced practices for visualizing and analyzing processes. You’ll hear real-world examples demonstrating the practical application of a variety of tips and tricks. By the end of the session, you’ll know how to understand current processes and identify opportunities for improvement in your work.

This day-long session requires a $150 registration fee. Meals will be provided and breaks will be offered throughout the day. Registration is limited to 40 participants.

Content level: introductory to intermediate

In today’s increasingly complex work environment, success depends on interdisciplinary teams. But integrating multiple perspectives requires intentional leadership. Integrative leaders foster supportive and psychologically safe team cultures where members feel empowered to ask questions, experiment, and learn from mistakes.

They take a human-centered approach—drawing out each member’s unique expertise and facilitating the integration of knowledge to create new understanding. In this session, you’ll explore practical strategies for integrating multiple perspectives and collaborating more effectively across disciplinary boundaries.

Content level: introductory

In this session, you’ll hear from three UW–Madison colleagues who have been part of highly successful, collaborative teams. Each will share their unique experiences with different types of on-campus collaborations. Together, they’ll discuss what worked, what didn’t, the challenges they faced, key lessons learned, how they defined success, and more.

Join this session to explore firsthand experiences of collaboration on campus—and leave with fresh ideas and strategies for leading collaborative work.