... PhD Student in Business Administration at CTF, Service Research Center at Karlstad University. In 2016 you received the Hedelius scholarship for studies abroad. You have now returned from your nine month visit at Texas State University. Can you tell us about your experiences?
– I am very grateful for this opportunity, and for the scholarship. Studying there has helped me to grow on different levels; academic, personal and social. The purpose of my visit was to work on my research as part of my doctoral program, and I had the chance to work closely with two brilliant researchers, Ray Fisk and Linda Nasr, within my research field which is Transformative Service Research. I also had the chance to join “The Writing Center” at the University, where students, faculty, and staff have the chance to develop their writing skills. This have helped me to develop my chain of arguments and to write in a more academic and economic way. On a personal level, it has been an eye-opening and personality transforming. I had the opportunity to explore new cultures and enjoy the Texan food, and I also had the chance to practice my favorite sport, basketball. I have met some of the most amazing people and established friendships that I am sure will last a lifetime. My experience at Texas State University has been without a doubt an experience of the life-time.
What is the academic outcome from this period?
– I have two working papers within the field of Transformative Service Research. The first paper concerns the transformation and deformation of service ecosystem in Syria and Tunisia, and the other paper discusses the resource of time and its role in service. Both papers have implication on the well-being of individuals as well as communities. The first paper is planned to be submitted to Journal of Service Research, while the latter is planned to be submitted to Journal of Business Research. Moreover, I also had the chance to present my research as well as CTF, Service Research Center, to the faculty members at Texas State University. I will definitely come back to Texas, and I definitely recommend any scholar within service marketing field who is interested in Transformative Service Research to consider Texas State University for future research plans.
What´s next for you?
– I am very happy to be back at CTF, and I have a lot of energy and motivation to wrap up my dissertation. Hopefully I will graduate in the first half of next year.
Good luck!
Kotaiba Aal is a PhD Student in Business Administration at CTF, Service Research Center at Karlstad University. He is also a part of the Swedish Research School of Management and IT, MIT. He was awarded the Hedelius scholarship of SEK 100 000 in 2016 to study abroad.
