Stina Rutberg on the academy’s role

Stina Rutberg, Professor and Head of Subject in Physiotherapy and Health Promotion, shares her perspective on the academy’s role and what it can offer doctoral students.

Tell us about your role as Head of the Academy. What is your most important responsibility?

“My role is to coordinate the academy’s activities. I organise the seminars and convene the steering group. I also take part in the activities to help maintain continuity and make the academy a community that doctoral students keep coming back to.”

Why do doctoral students in health need a shared environment?

“Doctoral studies offer opportunities for development, but they can also be demanding and sometimes lonely. A shared environment gives doctoral students more colleagues to exchange experiences with and a supportive space to discuss questions that arise during their studies. When doctoral students from different research subjects meet, they also encounter perspectives and knowledge they might not come across within their own discipline.”

How do the seminars work in practice? Could you give examples of the topics and format?

“We aim to hold one seminar a month. They usually last around an hour and a half and can cover both research topics and doctoral students’ day-to-day working lives. Once a semester, we organise a longer seminar lasting around six hours, including lunch and a group activity. This allows more time to explore topics in depth and for doctoral students to get to know one another.”

What do you hope doctoral students gain from taking part in the academy?

“I hope they gain both knowledge and a sense of belonging. Discussing research and sharing experiences can help them develop as researchers. I also hope they feel they have colleagues and a network that can support them throughout their doctoral studies.”

What are the academy’s priorities for the future?

“We want to continue developing activities for doctoral students while exploring how the academy can create more opportunities for people working in health research to meet. In the longer term, we hope to involve all researchers in the health field, making it easier to exchange knowledge and build connections between doctoral education and the wider research environment.”

Contact

If you have any questions, please contact Stina or the Academy for Future of Health’s steering group.