PhD students from several European universities gathered at Karlstad University for a course on sustainable and digital service marketing and management. The course combines contemporary research perspectives with international collaboration, networking, and the development of participants’ own doctoral research projects.
The course Sustainable and Digital Service Marketing and Management: Theory and Research provides PhD students with advanced knowledge of theories, methods, and emerging perspectives in service marketing and service management. Particular emphasis is placed on sustainable services, digital transformation, service innovation, and circular business models, offering participants a current overview of service research with a focus on sustainability, digitalization, and systems transformation.
– This Erasmus+ Blended Intensive Programme (BIP) course is the first of its kind to be delivered at Karlstad University. Erasmus+ BIPs are co-funded by the European Commission, which aims to develop new forms of international mobility that enable more students to gain experience of studying abroad. It is an important part of the Karlstad Business School’s internationalisation efforts and our network of seven partner universities, with which we collaborate closely, says Samuel Petros, Associate Professor of Business Administration at Karlstad Business School and researcher at the Service Research Center (CTF).
– It is valuable for PhD students to meet in person, Samuel Petros explains. It gives them an opportunity to build networks, discuss ideas, and write papers together. They can also share the expectations and challenges that come with being a doctoral student. Our expectation is that participants will write a short conference paper, which provides excellent training.
Three PhD Students Reflect on the Course
Sara Lessing, KTH Royal Institute of Technology
– This is my fourth month as a PhD student, and my expectation was to gain a better understanding of service research, but also to receive support in narrowing down my research area and identifying a more precise research question. The course has helped me do that by showing me how to make an empirical study more theoretically grounded and how to ask the right questions to define my scope. I have learned both from the lectures and from discussions with other PhD students who are further along in their doctoral journeys.
Silvia Verdura, University of Tuscia
– The course has been very interesting. In Italy, my research areas have focused on equality, innovation, sustainable development, and the circular economy. The course has helped me discover research fields beyond my own, and I believe this has been a valuable experience that I can bring back with me to Italy.
Henryk Stawicki, Karlstad University
– It has been valuable to meet other PhD students and engage in discussions. Being able to step outside your own perspective and gain new insights is very beneficial. We learn how others work, think, and arrive at their research findings. Those who are further along in their studies have presented their research journeys, including the context, content, and contributions of their work, and have provided questions for us to reflect on in our own research. The course is intensive and there is always something happening, but I appreciate how highly interactive it is.
The course is delivered within the framework of the Erasmus+ BIP collaboration between Karlstad University, Roma Tre University, the University of Macedonia, the University of Tuscia, and Maastricht University.
