Life as a Doctoral Student
Want to know what our doctoral education is like? Read our interviews with current and former doctoral students to get an insight into their experiences.
A Socially Engaged Swot
Name: Doris Lydahl
Age: 34
Born: 痴盲蝉迟别谤氓蝉
Education: PhD student 2012鈥2017 at the University 91探花鈥檚 Department of Sociology and Work 91探花.
Employment: Currently running a project on welfare technology through shared employment between the Gothenburg Region and the University 91探花.
What are you working on right now (2021)?
I鈥檓 running a three-year project (2020鈥2023) on the values of welfare technology, funded by Riksbankens Jubileumsfond鈥檚 Flexit programme. The programme aims to strengthen links between the university and external organisations. I鈥檓 employed by the Gothenburg Region鈥檚 local authorities, and will then return to complete the project at the University 91探花.
Based on ethnographic, exploratory and practice-based case studies, I investigate how elderly care staff are affected by welfare technology when it is introduced at their workplaces.
Can you describe your research?
My research involves the intersection between policy and practice. I study what happens when policy is rolled out and put into practice in healthcare, psychiatry and care for the elderly.
I study what happens when policy is rolled out and put into practice in healthcare, psychiatry and care for the elderly.
More specifically, I鈥檓 interested in what tends to be taken for granted: everyday life and day-to-day, routine work. Drawing on insights from sociology and science and technology studies, I see these as sites where politics, science and technology come together, and where their normativities, values and orders are enacted, adapted and worked with.
What makes your research stand out?
My current project sheds light on caring for the elderly. Working as an assistant nurse in care for the elderly is Sweden鈥檚 most common job. By focusing on day-to-day and routine work, I describe situations that many people can relate to.
By focusing on day-to-day and routine work, I describe situations that many people can relate to.
Since I often work ethnographically, my articles include field notes that give colour and life to my more theoretical arguments.
How did you become interested in research?
It was actually only by chance that I started doing research. No one in my family has studied higher education before. I didn鈥檛 even know you could do doctoral studies when I started university. It was only during my Master鈥檚 programme that the idea of applying for doctoral studies took root.
No one in my family has studied higher education before. I didn鈥檛 even know you could do doctoral studies when I started university.
I鈥檝e always been socially and politically engaged in various ways, while also being a real swot, so doctoral studies felt like a good way to continue studying while also fighting to make the world a little better.
What was the best part of being a doctoral student?
The fact that I learned so much and got to know so many people through doctoral courses, conferences and workshops. Although my doctoral studies weren鈥檛 always a bed of roses, it鈥檚 great to have the opportunity to immerse yourself in a subject for five years.
Did you learn anything important from your doctoral studies?
As a doctoral student, it鈥檚 important to trust the system. You鈥檝e been accepted. You鈥檙e in the right place. And you will finish, even if it feels impossible at times.
Was there anything that you found difficult?
Sometimes I doubted that I would ever complete my thesis, and at times I felt very alone in the whole process of writing it. As a researcher 鈥榦n the other side I therefore try to help create environments and contexts to make doctoral students feel less alone and more like an important part of a wider context.
What was your relationship with other doctoral students like?
My fellow doctoral students and my other colleagues were extremely important, both scientifically and socially. I probably wouldn鈥檛 have made it through my studies if it wasn鈥檛 for all the lunches, where I got to have a laugh and let go of all my worries about performance and thesis writing.
I shared my study space with 脰ncel Naldemirci, and I wrote my first scientific article with him. It was through our collaboration that I learnt the scientific craft.
What are your plans for the future?
I鈥檒l continue my project on the values of welfare technology. In the spring, the Nordic Journal for 91探花 and Technology Studies is issuing a special issue on Care in STS, which I guest edited together with my colleague Lisa Lind茅n.
Do you have any advice for someone thinking about applying for third-cycle education?
91探花 the doctoral students at the department where you intend to apply! They can give you inside information about what it鈥檚 like and tips for thinking about subjects, supervisors and third-cycle courses.
Anything else you want to say?
Most of the time, research is great fun. It鈥檚 a privilege to delve deeper into a topic or an issue that you鈥檙e interested in, and there are few things that make me as happy as conducting interviews and observations. My experience is that it鈥檚 possible to have an influence and make a difference.
My experience is that it鈥檚 possible to have an influence and make a difference.
For example, through my thesis project, in which I studied the implementation of person-centred care, I鈥檝e been invited to give lectures and workshops at both practitioner and management levels. This has enabled me to have an impact on how a person-centred approach is used in the region I studied.
Menstrual Activist with an Academic Career
Name: Josefin Persdotter
Age: 35
Born: 惭枚濒苍诲补濒
Education: Bachelor鈥檚 degree in sociology, Master鈥檚 degree in European studies
Employment: Doctoral student (now PhD) at the University 91探花鈥檚 Department of Sociology and Work 91探花.
What are you working on right now (2021)?
In a couple of months I鈥檒l have completed the first draft of my entire thesis, so I鈥檓 currently busy writing.
Can you describe your research?
My research is about the concept of menstrual dirt. It鈥檚 based on the fact that menstruation is largely defined as a hygiene issue, a matter of dirt and cleanliness. I focus on dirt in connection with a couple of everyday menstrual technologies and ask the question: What is defined as dirt?
What is defined as dirt?
What happens when menstruation becomes 鈥 and is made 鈥 dirty? Which actors are involved in the creation of dirt? How are menstruators affected by dirtiness? For example, what does worrying about smelling bad involve? And how much time and effort do menstruators put into cleaning bloody toilets?
What makes your research stand out?
Critical menstruation research has been defined as a discipline in recent years, and has created a foundation for continued work on this overlooked subject. Although a great deal has happened in the last decade, including within society as a whole, there is still a lot to be done.
In sociology, menstruation has been shamefully unexplored, but the trend has definitely turned. Dirt and dirtiness occupy a similar position in academia. Focusing on menstrual dirtiness also stands out in relation to critical menstruation studies. In the past, researchers have distanced themselves from the so-called hygienisation of menstruation, whereas I argue that we should approach it and turn it inside out.
In the past, researchers have distanced themselves from the so-called hygienisation of menstruation, whereas I argue that we should approach it and turn it inside out.
How did you become interested in research?
I had been a menstrual activist for several years when I decided to make a real commitment after having worked in international administration assistance. I found it hard to be a small cog in a big machine. So I handed in my notice and started carving out a menstrual career.
I found it hard to be a small cog in a big machine.vSo I handed in my notice and started carving out a menstrual career.
I wrote an essay about menstruation, gave lectures on menstruation and staged menstrual art exhibitions. It took a long time before I actually thought it was achievable, that I could be a researcher! For a long time, turning a sociology into a career was an extremely abstract idea. I grew up among musicians and engineers, and had very little idea about how careers in sociology worked. I probably thought I wasn鈥檛 鈥榦ne of them鈥.
What鈥檚 the best thing about being a doctoral student?
The best thing for me is working in such a concrete way to advance the knowledge situation in a field that I鈥檓 so passionate about. It鈥檚 a real privilege.
The best thing for me is working in such a concrete way to advance the knowledge situation in a field that I鈥檓 so passionate about. It鈥檚 a real privilege.
I鈥檓 also very autonomous. I鈥檓 free to set the agenda for my work, and I really like that.
Did you learn anything important from your doctoral studies?
A huge amount! But if I had to pick just one thing, it鈥檚 probably the value of not putting too much faith in my ability to remember. If, like me, you do your doctoral studies in the midst of giving birth and having young children, there will be lots of breaks in your work. That鈥檚 when little diary notes about what I鈥檝e done and what I intended to do next are essential. Without them, it鈥檚 easy to end up duplicating work.
Is there anything you鈥檝e found difficult?
One of the hardest things about being a doctoral student is managing your own high expectations of yourself. It鈥檚 so hard to get a doctoral position that you start with the feeling 鈥淣ow I have to prove I鈥檓 as good as they think I am鈥, which quickly results in imposter syndrome and the like. And then the actual writing often turns out to be quite painful. Then it鈥檚 good having a family, as it forces a bit of self-distance every now and then.
What is your relationship with other doctoral students like?
Some of my closest colleagues are in the doctoral group. These days we often meet via Zoom for lunches, happy hour or joint writing exercises. There鈥檚 a certain amount of 鈥榞roup therapy鈥 as we try to sort out problems that crop up. I鈥檓 currently the chair of our doctoral student collective, which has given me an even stronger relationship with the group, which is great.
What are your plans for the future?
First of all, I鈥檒l be defending my thesis. And after that, my ambition is to do more research! My empirical material has generated a wealth of ideas that I won鈥檛 include in my thesis, but which I鈥檓 very keen to develop. Most of all, I鈥檓 looking forward to sharing the results, because I really believe they can make life better for menstruators.
Most of all, I鈥檓 looking forward to sharing the results, because I really believe they can make life better for menstruators.
Do you have any advice for someone thinking about applying for third-cycle education?
Write a really good Master鈥檚 thesis 鈥 that鈥檚 essential for the application itself. And if you鈥檙e accepted, make sure you have good tools for planning your working hours and ensuring that you can take breaks. I think it鈥檚 very important with a job like this, which 鈥 in theory 鈥 you could spend every hour of the day doing.
Anything else you want to say?
It鈥檚 common for new doctoral students to think they have all the time in the world just to write the actual thesis, but there鈥檚 a lot more to third-cycle education, like going on courses and teaching. It鈥檚 important to bear that in mind, both before and during your doctoral studies. The outcome isn鈥檛 just a thesis, it鈥檚 also becoming 鈥榓 doctor鈥. If you complete it, that is.
Teacher Becomes an Expert in Native Language Teaching
Name: Nuhi Bajqinca
Age: 62
Born: Pristina, Kosovo. Came to Sweden as an upper secondary school English teacher in the early 1990s.
Education: Doctoral student 2010鈥2018 at the University 91探花鈥檚 Department of Sociology and Work 91探花.
Employment: Senior lecturer in social sciences with a didactic focus at the University of Bor氓s.
What are you working on right now (2021)?
I鈥檓 a senior lecturer in didactics at the University of Bor氓s鈥檚 Department of Preschool and Teacher Education.
Can you describe your thesis?
My research mainly concerns native language education policy for multilingual students based on school policy documents. My thesis examines the Swedish school system from a historical perspective, from the 1950s onwards.
What makes your research stand out?
My thesis offers new insights into Swedish native language education and social changes between 1957 and 2017. The scope and reach have shed light on the political ambitions of the Swedish nation state on this issue, and on how 鈥 and to some extent, why 鈥 they have changed over time.
The scope and reach have shed light on the political ambitions of the Swedish nation state on this issue, and on how 鈥 and to some extent, why 鈥 they have changed over time.
The study has also highlighted the consequences of national policy discourses on native language education and bilingual students鈥 opportunities for native language education.
How did you become interested in research?
Although I was a qualified upper secondary school teacher of English when I came to Sweden, I studied full-time at the University 91探花 to get my teaching qualification in Sweden. I had worked as a qualified English and social studies teacher for many years before I was accepted as a doctoral student. So my interest was sparked after my teacher training, when I was studying educational science at second-cycle level with a focus on diversity and multilingualism.
I had worked as a qualified English and social studies teacher for many years before I was accepted as a doctoral student.
It was within the context of my employment as a high school teacher in Bor氓s that I received part-time funding from the City of Bor氓s to study multilingualism. And it felt quite logical and motivating to continue my research within the same area. During my doctoral studies, I鈥檝e worked as a doctoral student at the University 91探花 and as a high school teacher at Erikslund School in Bor氓s.
Researching native language education felt like a highly topical and relevant area for me, because my thesis was written during a time of intense societal change and an increase in migration, when the number of non-native Swedish speakers at Swedish schools increased significantly.
What was the best thing about being a doctoral student?
Doctoral studies are intense. It鈥檚 not an easy period, but highlights included participating in various seminars and international conferences, and getting to know many talented researchers during my doctoral studies, while also unconsciously embarking on the research process as a future researcher.
Did you learn anything important from your doctoral studies?
As a doctoral student, there are many personal experiences and lessons to learn. Lots of these are linked to the writing process. Third-cycle education is intense and there can be many reasons for writing a thesis, but completing these studies requires determination.
Was there anything that you found difficult?
Being employed in two different positions at the same time for many years as a doctoral student wasn鈥檛 easy. But also having reflective thoughts about how to continue the writing process in my thesis. You always have these thoughts, wherever you are in the process.
What was your relationship with other doctoral students like?
Although I wasn鈥檛 a full-time doctoral student at the department and wasn鈥檛 there every day, I enjoyed excellent cooperation and support from my fellow doctoral students and other colleagues, both formally and informally at the department, in my workspace and elsewhere, for example at seminars, conferences and so on, both in Sweden and abroad.
What are your plans for the future?
I鈥檒l probably continue to write in my field, possibly some kind of book describing my time as a teacher in Sweden, too.
Do you have any advice for someone thinking about applying for third-cycle education?
Having the opportunity to research a school subject systematically with a specific focus that you鈥檙e interested in at third-cycle level is highly stimulating for a professional teacher.
Third-cycle education is a process with several different stages. But it鈥檚 important to get started with the writing process and supervision early on, during the initial phase.
Combining Research with Strategic Development Work in Healthcare
Name: Mimmi Kheddache Jendeby
Age: 43
Born: Gothenburg
Education: Master鈥檚 degree in Industrial and Financial Economy at the Gothenburg School of Business, Economics, and Law, as well as a bachelor's degree in Psychology of Organization and Work at The Department of Psychology
Employment: I devote about 50 % of my time to my doctoral studies at The Department of Sociology and Work 91探花 and work 50 % as a strategist at the Region V盲stra G枚taland.
What are you working on right now (2022)?
At the moment I'm attending a course called "Management Trends in Public Administration" and writing parts for a review about employee silence and employee voice.
Can you describe your research?
Very briefly one could say that I'm focusing on two concepts: "employee silence" and "employee voice". Employee silence refers to a behavior where employees avoid or restrain from providing information about organizational conditions to the people that are perceived as capable of changing or bettering the situation. Employee voice is a behavior that focuses on constructive questioning with the purpose of improvement, instead of just negative critique.
What makes your research stand out?
In the last ten years, a lot of research has focused on these two concepts. But there are still many gaps to be filled, not least because it's a relatively new research area. The existing research is also a bit all over, and not always so theoretically well grounded. Healthcare services are set to undergo major changes in the coming years to be able to handle challenges related to demographics, economics, and resources. That makes it important to understand how healthcare organizations can promote employee voice and reduce employee silence, to create thriving work environments and provide the services they are designed to.
How did you become interested in research?
I had been thinking about it for a long time, but finally I decided when I came in contact with a colleague who had begun a doctoral education a bit later in life. It got me thinking it wasn't too late for me either.
I had been thinking about it for a long time, but finally I decided when I came in contact with a colleague who had begun a doctoral education a bit later in life. It got me thinking it wasn't too late for me either.
What was the best part of being a doctoral student?
To be a part of a continuous learning process and to meet others who also really enjoy learning.
Did you learn anything important from your doctoral studies?
I'm still in the beginning of my process, so I think most lessons are to come. For now I'm trying to focus on having fun and to not stress too much over the parts I haven't gotten a hang of yet.
For now I'm trying to focus on having fun and to not stress too much over the parts I haven't gotten a hang of yet.
Was there anything that you found difficult?
To manage my time as a part time doctoral student.
What was your relationship with other doctoral students like?
Since I am doing this part time, I haven't really been able to meet the others at the department as much as I would want. I hope to change that going forward.
What are your plans for the future?
I hope to start gathering data for my research soon.
Do you have any advice for someone thinking about applying for third-cycle education?
Follow your heart, and talk to someone who has experience from being a doctoral student themselves.
Anything else you want to say?
To allow time for things to mature is something I'm struggling with. That is also a tip to other restless souls.
Coming soon...
