Open Agriculture. 2018; 3: 553–566 Keywords: transdisciplinary learning; transdisciplinary pedagogy, transdisciplinary case studies, system analysis; scenario development, higher education 1 Introduction “Agricultural sciences nevertheless have to operate at the interface between technological, economic, natural and social systems; and between different knowledge systems and policy arenas. They also have to provide credible science in a context of competing narratives, and interpretations, of how to achieve sustainable agriculture.“ (13th European IFSA Symposium, 2018, http://www.ifsa2018.gr/en/themes/symbosium_themes). As a response, the 18th IFSA Symposium called for the integration of science, technology, policy and practice and asked what competencies key actors in these fields need to enhance a dialogue between them (13th European IFSA Symposium 2018). The integration of scientists and non-scientists to solve complex real-world problems can be called transdisciplinary research (see Hadorn et al. 2008). A transdisciplinary dialogue between key actors indeed seems to be fundamental for solving such complex, real-world problems, and ultimately for sustainable development (Krainer and Winiwarte 2016; Lang et al. 2012). To understand food and farming systems, transdisciplinary approaches are essential as research in this field should be participatory (Darnhofer et al. 2012) and include stakeholders throughout the entire research process (see the development of farming systems research in Bingen and Gibbon (2012). Although transdisciplinary research has experienced a rise in popularity since its emergence in the late 1970s, it still faces a large number of cultural, institutional, organizational and psychological challenges (Lang et al. 2012). One necessary and often overlooked solution in overcoming such challenges is education and training of students in higher education. https://doi.org/10.1515/opag-2018-0059 received June 24, 2018; accepted October 13, 2018 Abstract: In this paper we evaluate whether the course “System Analysis and Scenario Technique” at BOKU University can equip students with the necessary competencies to perform transdisciplinary research to foster the integration of science, technology, policy and practice. Furthermore, we investigate what the most effective didactic methods applied in the course are, and whether the course qualifies as transdisciplinary pedagogy. The course follows the simplified framework of a transdisciplinary case study and tries to transfer such an approach into the traditional curricula of Master programs. An online survey among former participants of the course was conducted. Results for the years 2015/16 and 2016/17 indicate that the course indeed has potential to increase transdisciplinary competencies among participants and could therefore qualify as transdisciplinary pedagogy. Students expressed that work with real-world cases and stakeholders from outside the university was the most effective didactic method. However, the study also showed that there were limits in integrating real-world cases within the course. Students complained about the high workload and time constraints. Short-term solutions might include optimizing case selection and student guidance. Long-term solutions beg for a reorganization of traditional Austrian curricula that would allow for the appropriate arrangement of the course with other classes. These results highlight some of the advantages, but also drawbacks of moving transdisciplinary education outside of standard curricula. Research Article Valentin Fiala*, Bernhard Freyer, Milena Klimek, Alexandre Fahringer How do you teach transdisciplinary competences for food and farming systems research? Insights from the course “System Analysis and Scenario Technique” *Corresponding author: Valentin Fiala, University of Natural Resources and Life Science, Vienna (BOKU), Austria, E-mail: valentin.fiala@boku.ac.at Bernhard Freyer, Milena Klimek, Alexandre Fahringer, University of Natural Resources and Life Science, Vienna (BOKU), Austria Open Access. © 2018 Valentin Fiala et al., published by De Gruyter. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution- NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 License.