Meet a doctoral student

”An incredibly stimulating environment”
Hanna Forsberg thrives in academia and had research as the goal even before her master's education. Now, her research is on how children's health can be improved through active school transport, and she feels privileged to spend her time on something she finds so interesting.
What is your background?
“I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do in life, but one summer I had the opportunity to work as a transport assistant at the hospital. My conclusion was that I want to work with health, but not with illness. I studied health guidance at Luleå University of Technology and a master's degree in public health science at Mid Sweden University in Sundsvall. My background is different from the subject I will be doing my dissertation in. I think this is becoming more common and depends on the research project itself. A public health science project suits my background.”
Why did you want to do a PhD?
“When I attended the health guidance program, my feeling was I never wanted it to end, I enjoyed studying so much. Then I was offered a job as a lecturer, it was the first time I came into contact with academia from the inside. I realized that I was really attracted to the academic environment, the forward-thinking spirit that exists and the freedom to be creative and try out one's thoughts. To continue working in academia, I needed at least a master's degree. The choice fell on public health science, how to improve health at population level is an extremely interesting topic. Even before I started my master's education, my goal was a PhD. I didn't know exactly how, but I knew I wanted to do it”
What is your research about?
“My two supervisors have developed an intervention that aims to promote physical activity in children by cycling or walking to school. Physical inactivity in children is a huge problem both nationally and globally. My piece of the puzzle in the project has been to understand more about how parents reason. What makes you allow or not allow your child to walk or cycle to school? The knowledge is important to understand both why one does it and not, which can generate knowledge about how they can be supported.”
What is it like to be a doctoral student at Luleå University of Technology?
“At our department, we have a fantastic group of doctoral students who have become very important to me. We go through the same things, sometimes very tough and sometimes incredibly fun. There is a willingness to support and help each other. It is valuable that the department has created such a research environment.”
What is being a researcher like?
“The most enjoyable part is being in an extremely stimulating knowledge-seeking environment. You can be creative and no two days are the same. It is exciting to test your hypotheses, not least when there are unexpected results. What I didn't know before I started is that you go through different phases. If you are going to be able to do this for five years, you need to be very interested, it will carry you through ups and downs. I am incredibly privileged to be able to devote so much time to an area I care for so much.”
“I like to immerse myself”

Mascha Pauelsen, PhD student in physiotherapy at Luleå University of Technology, is from The Hague in the Netherlands, but came to Luleå because of her partner. Ever since her undergraduate studies, she has been focused on pursuing research.
What is your educational and professional background?
“I was a teacher in primary school in Hague, but when I came to Sweden I wanted to do something else so I started training as a Physiotherapist at Mälardalen University, but then switched to Luleå University of Technology.”
Why did you start researching?
“I am curious, I always want to move on and develop. It fits well with research, where I get to immerse myself. I discovered already during my education that I wanted to continue with research.”
What is your research about?
“I investigate how the ability to balance is affected by aging and how it is connected with fear of falling. I research how the different aspects are connected. We use several impressions to keep the balance, including the sight and feeling in the body that become signals that go to the brain. The body and muscles change and the ability to read the signals is disturbed as you get older. What I do is basic research, that is, I create and build on knowledge and understanding that at a later stage can be developed into clinical measures.”
What is it like to do research? What is most difficult, what is most fun?
“The most fun is to design, plan, the research. So that you get answers to the questions and problems that you have identified. It is also fun to identify the problems. The most difficult thing is that we work interdisciplinary, together with technical subjects. We combine knowledge and methods to find ways to solve different problems. This means that research is at the forefront of the current state of knowledge. It requires that you want to learn from each other, outside your own area. It is both difficult and exciting.”
Would you encourage others to do research?
“Absolutely, but only if the person is already thinking about it. You must probably have your own desire to do research. You have to like to immerse yourself and explore.”
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