PhD Student Opportunity: Integration of Quality and Sustainability

Are you passionate about driving the green transition and advancing knowledge in quality and sustainability? This PhD position offers the opportunity to explore how sustainability can be integrated into quality management, focusing on roles, skills, and practices. Your research will address key challenges, such as skill gaps and role clarity, to empower organizations and individuals while fostering supportive, impactful strategies.

About the Department
This position is hosted within the Division of Innovation and R&D Management at the department of Technology Management and Economics, Chalmers University of Technology. Our research focuses on managing innovation and enhancing the design, delivery, and continuous improvement of services. By collaborating with public and private organizations, we address real-world challenges that demand novel ways of working and organizing.

About the Research Project
This position is part of the research project “New Roles for Integrating Quality, Sustainability, and Work Environment – A Rewarding Opportunity or Increased Stress and a Sense of Inadequacy?” The project aims to develop tools to identify skill needs and foster competence development for professionals managing combined responsibilities for quality and sustainability. The ultimate goal is to empower these professionals to contribute meaningfully to the green transition while thriving in supportive work environments.

Your research will be rooted in the field of Quality Management, emphasizing core principles such as customer focus, continuous improvement, and stakeholder involvement.

Qulalifications
We are looking for candidates with the following qualifications.

Required Skills and Qualifications:


• A strong motivation and sense of responsibility for pursuing independent, high-quality research.
• Excellent communication skills in English, both written and spoken.
• Proven ability to analyze complex information, synthesize insights from multiple sources, and effectively communicate findings.
• A university degree at an advanced (Master’s) level in a relevant field (e.g., industrial engineering and management, innovation management, strategic management, leadership studies, business administration). This must include at least four years of study (240 ECTS credits), with at least 60 ECTS at the Master’s level.
• Completion of a Master’s thesis by the start of the PhD program.
• Demonstrated ability to write and analyze academic texts.

Preferred Skills and Merits:


• A multidisciplinary academic background combining engineering/science and social sciences.
• Strong proficiency in Swedish, both written and spoken, is advantageous due to the empirical nature of the study.
• Good interpersonal and social skills, with the ability to build and maintain relationships with external organizations.

If Swedish is not your native language, Chalmers offers Swedish courses.

Major responsibilities
As a PhD student, your primary responsibility will be to conduct doctoral research while completing relevant coursework. Key responsibilities include:


• Designing and conducting literature reviews, research plans, and empirical studies.
• Communicating research findings through written reports, presentations, seminars, and conferences.
• Collaborating with various stakeholders in industrial sectors to gather insights and inform your work.
• Contributing to the writing of scientific articles, which will form the basis of your doctoral thesis.
• Participating in teaching and departmental duties, which may account for up to 20% of your working hours.

Read more about doctoral studies at Chalmers here.

Contract terms
Full-time temporary employment. The position is limited to a maximum of five years.

We offer
Chalmers offers a cultivating and inspiring working environment in the coastal city of Gothenburg. 
Read more about working at Chalmers and our benefits for employees.

Chalmers aims to actively improve our gender balance. We work broadly with equality projects, for example the GENIE Initiative on gender equality for excellence. Equality and diversity are substantial foundations in all activities at Chalmers.

Application procedure
The application should be written in English. The application should be sent electronically and be attached as PDF-files, as below. Maximum size for each file is 40 MB. Please note that the system does not support Zip files.

CV: (Please name the document: CV, Family name)
• CV
• Other, for example previous employments or leadership qualifications and positions of trust.
• Two references that we can contact.

Personal letter: (Please name the document as: Personal letter, Family name)
1-3 pages where you:
• Introduce yourself
• Describe your previous experience of relevance for the position (e.g. education, thesis work and, if applicable, any other research activities)
• Describe your future goals and future research focus

Other documents:
• Copies of bachelor and/or master’s thesis.
• Attested copies and transcripts of completed education, grades and other certificates, e.g. TOEFL test results.

Use the button at the foot of the page to reach the application form. 

Please note: The applicant is responsible for ensuring that the application is complete. Incomplete applications and applications sent by email will not be considered.


Application deadline: January 15, 2025

For questions, please contact:

For questions about the research project, Ida Gremyr (ida.gremyr@chalmers.se)
For questions about the recruitment process, Petra Bosch (petra.bosch@chalmers.se)

*** Chalmers declines to consider all offers of further announcement publishing or other types of support for the recruiting process in connection with this position. ***