European summer school shapes the next generation of researchers
At the end of June, Halmstad University arranged an international summer school for doctoral students from four universities: Halmstad University, Aalborg University in Denmark, University of Oulu in Finland, and the University of Glasgow in the UK. For a week, researchers, doctoral students, and entrepreneurs gathered to take part in lectures, workshops, and field trips to shape a new generation of researchers.
“This is the first time the summer school has been arranged, and I’m very happy that it has been under Swedish management.”
Svante Andersson, Professor of Business Administration
Svante Andersson is the local project leader and Professor of Business Administration.
The summer school is a part of the research project Legitimation of Newness and Its Impact on EU Agenda for Change (LNETN) and is meant to educate a new generation of researchers and offer them new perspectives. The aim is for them to be able to interpret and understand complex phenomena within innovation in a way that can change decision-making and the implementation of policies, as well as contribute to having a positive impact on societal development.
“This is the first time the summer school has been arranged, and I’m very happy that it has been under Swedish management”, says Svante Andersson, local project leader and Professor of Business Administration. Fellow members in the project management group Jonas Gabrielsson, Professor of Business Administration, and Natasha Evers, who is a visiting professor at Halmstad University, were helping him out.
A week of several heavyweights
The programme included a Q&A open to everyone, career development, elevator pitches, field trips, structured debates and other team-building activities. Four of the 15 participating doctoral students were from Halmstad University: Manoella Antonieta Ramos da Silva, Jackson Kinyanjui, Deniz Dönmez and Luiza Stein da Silva. All four are studying Innovation Sciences with a Business Administration focus.
The doctoral students went on a field trip to the Halmstad-based business HMS Network, where CEO Staffan Dahlström, who also is a Halmstad University alum, enthusiastically talked about what it is like to lead an international growing company. He particularly focused on sustainability and innovation.
Two international heavyweights from the entrepreneurial world also visited the summer school. Jeremy Lefroy, executive director of Café Africa, and David Woollcombe, founder and CEO of Peace Child International, shared their experiences when it comes to being a leader outside of the academic world, and listened to the doctoral students presenting their research. Each doctoral student was given the task of presenting their research in plain terms for a non-academic audience in less than three minutes. The doctoral students happily accepted feedback both regarding their presentations and research.
“It is not every day that you get the chance to present your research to experts of this calibre. Getting feedback from leaders outside of the academic world is priceless and will help us shape the societal contributions we wish to create with our research”, says Felix Honecker, doctoral student at the University of Glasgow.
“Each item on the agenda was valuable”
“The best part of the summer school was that all project members were here to exchange stories and discuss research and collaboration. Each item on the agenda was valuable and useful for us as doctoral students and made us reflect upon our current research as well as our postdoctoral direction”, says Manoella Antonieta Ramos da Silva. She researches on how institutional contexts and politics shape – and are shaped by – the development, legitimisation and internationalisation within medical technology, the pharmaceutical industry, and biotechnology.
Manoella Antonieta Ramos da Silva thinks that the best part of the summer school was that all project members were here to exchange stories and discuss research and collaboration.
The doctoral students in the project will continue to stay with the project partners abroad, both universities and organisations, and eventually finish their doctoral theses.
“The summer school was such a success. We are already looking forward to the next summer school in the project, which will be arranged in Glasgow in 2023”, says Svante Andersson.
Text: Katarina Tran
Translation: Emma Swahn
Photos: Dan Bergmark and Katarina Tran
