Research School Change - co-creating a sustainable working life

Health promotion and an inclusive working life are essential for resilient organisations, healthy workplaces and sustainable growth.

In the Graduate School Change – co-creating a sustainable working life, we work to promote sustainable growth and healthy, inclusive and socially sustainable workplaces. This is achieved through collaboration and knowledge exchange between working life and research.

Research contributes knowledge that companies and organisations can use to develop and adapt in support of a sustainable working life. In turn, companies and organisations contribute real-world challenges, knowledge and experience to the research, making it even more relevant. In this way, new knowledge, working methods and solutions can be developed to support a sustainable working life.

Benefits for companies and organisations

By participating in the doctoral school, companies and organisations gain:

• support for development and organisational change through access to research-based knowledge
• opportunities to address pressing organisational challenges through research projects
• learning and development within the organisation through close collaboration with researchers and doctoral students
• participation in a network with other organisations for the exchange of knowledge and experience.
  

The research is conducted in close dialogue with participating organisations and contributes both to the advancement of scientific knowledge and to practical benefits for the organisations involved.

How we collaborate

Research projects are developed jointly by researchers, doctoral students and partners from working life. Researchers contribute methods, analysis and evidence, while companies and organisations contribute their needs, experience and knowledge of their operations.

The research is based on real-world challenges in working life. Together, we generate knowledge about how workplaces can be developed to promote health, inclusion and long-term sustainability.

Companies and organisations participate through collaborative research and development projects, in which relevant research questions are identified in dialogue with researchers. This also involves creating the conditions needed for the projects to succeed, for example by securing funding, recruiting doctoral students and establishing collaboration agreements.

The Graduate School also provides a network of partners from different sectors of working life. A reference group supports the work by helping to ensure that the Graduate School’s focus and activities remain current and relevant.

Changeday

Once a year, the Graduate School hosts a Changeday, bringing together participating companies to learn about the latest research and meet the Graduate School’s doctoral students.

Doctoral students admitted to doctoral studies in Health-Promoting Work at the University of Gävle who conduct research in collaboration and co-production with working life in Gävleborg can apply to the Change Graduate School.

As a doctoral student in the Graduate School, you will have the opportunity to:

• participate in activities that develop your skills in collaboration and co-production
• take part in joint forums such as Changeday and Focusday
• present and discuss your research with representatives from working life
• participate in study visits and network with other doctoral students

The Graduate School provides valuable experience of practice-based research and collaboration as part of your doctoral studies.

You will also be offered the doctoral course Collaboration and Co-production for a Sustainable Working Life (7.5 credits).

Our doctoral students and their projects