Edge of Knowing : Curiosity, Complexity and Collaboration at the Institute for Advanced Study of the University of Amsterdam

How do new ideas emerge, and how can collaboration across disciplines transform our understanding of the world? The Edge of Knowing provides an insight into the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) at the University of Amsterdam – an environment where curiosity, complexity and collaboration converge.

The IAS brings together researchers from a variety of disciplines to address the defining challenges of our time, such as climate change, health, technology, governance, and the evolving nature of knowledge itself. Through a rich collection of essays and interviews, this book explores what ‘advancement’ in research truly means, examining how it unfolds, what it requires, how it generates impact and how it can be sustained within and beyond institutional boundaries.

By tracing the experiences and reflections of scholars working at the intersection of disciplines, The Edge of Knowing explores the conditions that enable innovation and the collective pursuit of understanding. It is both a portrait of a unique institute and a broader inquiry into how research evolves in the face of complexity.