Andreas Örnehag is employed as a so-called municipal doctoral student, a relatively new form of employment that means that he is linked to a municipal activity – in this case, the social services' elderly care in Sandviken Municipality.
– The idea of a position as a municipal doctoral student is that it should strengthen the municipality's development and also promote contact with the University of Gävle, while at the same time being a good way to create networks, he says.
"Elderly care is an important labour market"
He focuses on the future of elderly care and the opportunities and consequences new welfare technologies can create for staff and users. He will be mapping a group of people's feelings and experiences when new technologies are introduced, and the project will run until 2024.
– I have worked practically for many years as an official in the municipal social services – as a care administrator, a head of unit and an investigator – so I know what challenges and opportunities exist. Elderly care is an important labour market, and care workers are one of the largest groups in the Swedish labour market.
Text: Anna Sällberg