Bridging Disciplines: The Role of Communication in Facilitating Interdisciplinary Discourse for Sustainable Development, Systematic Review in Assam

Abstract

Universities are increasingly recognized as central actors in advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), yet their transformative capacity is constrained by disciplinary silos and communication barriers. This literature review explores the role of strategic communication in fostering interdisciplinary dialogue for sustainability transformation within higher education. Drawing on research from communication studies, higher education, and sustainability science published between 2015 and 2026, the review synthesizes findings across five domains: communicative practices, dialogic approaches, competence development, institutional conditions, and framework design. Three key insights emerge. First, communication serves as a foundational mechanism for cultivating “epistemic friendship”—a culture of reciprocity, trust, and horizontality that enables collaboration beyond epistemological boundaries. Second, dialogic techniques such as empathy, mutuality, and proximity are essential for building trust and engagement across disciplines. Third, explicit training in cross-disciplinary communication significantly enhances students’ capacity to collaboratively address sustainability challenges. Persistent obstacles remain, including limited integration of communication skills into sustainability curricula and structural disincentives embedded in disciplinary reward systems. To address these challenges, the review proposes a Communication Infrastructure Model comprising four interrelated layers: institutional architecture, dialogic practices, structural supports, and core competencies. The analysis concludes that communication is not an auxiliary element of interdisciplinary sustainability work but its essential infrastructure. Recommendations are offered for educators, researchers, policymakers, and institutions to embed strategic communication into sustainability transformation efforts, thereby strengthening universities’ capacity to act as catalysts for achieving the SDGs.