Active and Healthy Ageing as a Wicked Problem: The Contribution of a Multidisciplinary Research University Giuseppe RIVA a,b1 , Guendalina GRAFFIGNA a , Maddalena BAITIERI c , Alessandra AMATO c , Maria Grazia BONANOMI c , Paolo VALENTINI c , Guido CASTELLI c a Department of Psychology, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan, Italy b Applied Technology for Neuro-Psychology Lab. Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Milan, Italy c Research and Scientific Projects Directorate, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan, Italy Abstract. The quest for an active and healthy ageing can be considered a “wicked problem.” It is a social and cultural problem, which is difficult to solve because of incomplete, changing, and contradictory requirements. These problems are tough to manage because of their social complexity. They are a group of linked problems embedded in the structure of the communities in which they occur. First, they require the knowledge of the social and cultural context in which they occur. They can be solved only by understanding of what people do and why they do it. Second, they require a multidisciplinary approach. Wicked problems can have different solutions, so it is critical to capture the full range of possibilities and interpretations. Thus, we suggest that Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (UCSC) is well suited for accepting and managing this challenge because of its applied research orientation, multidisciplinary approach, and integrated vision. After presenting the research activity of UCSC, we describe a possible “systems thinking” strategy to consider the complexity and interdependence of active ageing and healthy living. Keywords. Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Research University, Multidisciplinary Approach, Healthy Living, Active Ageing, Wicked Problem, Systems Thinking, Knowledge Mobilization Introduction European universities are crucial players in supporting European competitiveness, economic growth, and social cohesion, resulting in the need to focus on quality, efficiency, and excellence. In this process, however, university quality cannot be assessed only by using industrial quality models [1]. This approach works well for standardized services, such as ICT services or student administration, but not for assessing the real influence of a university on the key social and economic challenges. In particular, we suggest that universities have to be evaluated for their role in the solution of wicked [2; 3] social and cultural problems that are difficult to solve because 1 Corresponding Author: Department of Psychology, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Largo Gemelli 1, 20123, Milan, Italy. E-mail: giuseppe.riva@unicatt.it Active Ageing and Healthy Living G. Riva et al. (Eds.) © 2014 The authors and IOS Press. This article is published online with Open Access by IOS Press and distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License. doi:10.3233/978-1-61499-425-1-10 10