The course Impact and the utilisation of research is offered by the Innovation Office Fyrklövern and is aimed at doctoral students from four universities. The course focuses on how research results can be used to benefit society, industry, and academia through non-academic strategies. Elise Meurs, a doctoral student in chemical engineering whose research is conducted in collaboration with an industrial company, finds the course especially valuable.
“In my doctoral project, we are investigating industrially feasible solutions for chemical recycling of cotton, by reusing cotton waste in the viscose process instead of wood fibers. Our research aims to explore performance differences and propose solutions for achieving a commercially viable alternative to the current viscose production from wood fibers. The project is run through the Department of Engineering and Chemical Sciences and is carried out in close collaboration with the company Circulose.”
What made you apply to the course Impact and the utilisation of research?
“Since my project is closely tied to industry, it’s important to be able to communicate beyond the academic world. That’s a skill that doesn’t necessarily develop when working as a researcher within academia, where most communication happens through scientific publications and conferences. Learning how to pitch, and hearing about networking, legal aspects, and intellectual property in the lectures gave me inspiration and knowledge about skills and scenarios we all encounter at some point during our PhD studies. These are not things you easily absorb through research work alone.”
What did you like about the course, and would you recommend others to apply?
“This course gave us the opportunity to practice communicating and pitching our work to audiences beyond experts in our specific research field, such as research funders, through peer-reviewed exercises with fellow participants. Being reviewed by other participants not only gave us inspiration and insights into how others tackled the tasks, but also valuable training in giving constructive feedback – even to PhD students in completely different research areas. The fact that the course focused on practicing our own skills rather than just listening to experienced lecturers was a major strength, and helped us feel more comfortable handling communication situations for a broader audience.”
The course is taught in English by the Innovation Office Fyrklövern, a collaboration between Karlstad University, Linnaeus University, Mid Sweden University, and Örebro University.
Read more and sign up for the course Impact and the utilisation of research here.
