Two PhD student positions in quality management

Information about the research
The Department of Technology Management and Economics conduct empirical research based on a collaborative approach; using both qualitative and quantitative data collection methods. Our research has its base in Quality Management but, depending on phenomenon studied, makes use of various other knowledge fields e.g. sustainable development, innovation management, Information Communication Technology (ICT).

Position 1 Healthcare Improvement
The position will be linked to Center for Healthcare Improvement (CHI). The Centre for Healthcare Improvement (CHI) is a research and education center at Chalmers University of Technology carrying out research and education within improvement, innovation and transformation of healthcare and medical treatment. CHI is based at the Department of Technology Management and Economics at Chalmers.

The Ph.D student will be connected to on-going Horizon 2020 project financed by EU. The goal of the project is to define an innovative business model to supply assistance services (in-house for the elderly and with a remote-based approach supporting autonomy), allowing independent living for elderly people, especially for those affected by mild to moderate dementia or mild to moderate cognitive impairment, granting high levels of quality of life. The project starts in May 2015 and is expected to end in May 2018. The project has partners in Italy (project coordinator), Spain, Israel, the Netherlands and Sweden. Your research will be connected to the project. The research areas include topics such as organisational and digital innovations, quality improvements, business models and assessment of healthcare interventions. The setting for your research is health and social care units at the project's partners. You are also expected to take actions based on the collaboration with the partners, both research related and more practically related tasks, to ensure the success of the project. Your major responsibilities as PhD student are to contribute to the results and dissemination of the project and to pursue your doctoral studies. You are expected to develop your own scientific concepts and communicate the results of your research verbally and in writing, both in Swedish and in English.

Position 2 Service Quality
Many manufacturing companies are moving towards delivering services, a transition that challenges many of the current ways of working e.g. development and sales processes. Moreover, in the area of Quality Management many of the manufacturing companies have mature tools, practices and procedures to support quality development and assessment of products. However, when offering services bundled with products, i.e. a solution, the maturity of the Quality Management work is considerably lower.

This PhD student will focus on contributions to the development of Quality Management practices and tools for companies offering combinations, or bundles, of services and products. An example of such a bundle is a high-tech product for healthcare alongside services including training of staff and remote analysis of the data stored in the product. When developing a high-quality offer it is in the case of a product-service bundle critical to understand on what dimensions the quality of a bundle is evaluated, and how that differs from how a pure product or service is evaluated.

The setting for your research is different companies offering products, services and combinations thereof. You are expected to take actions based on the collaboration with the industry partners, both research related and more practically related tasks. Your major responsibilities as PhD student are to contribute to the research in the stipulated area and to pursue your doctoral studies. You are expected to develop your own scientific work and communicate the results verbally and in writing, primarily in English but at occasions also in Swedish.

Position summary
Full-time temporary employment. The position is limited to a maximum of five years. You will spend about 80% of this time on research and maximum 20% teaching and other departmental tasks. You will be part of the postgraduate programme and the research school Technology Management and Economics. 

Qualifications
Master's degree, preferably in Quality Management or Innovation Management. We are looking for someone that has not only the capabilities of performing and presenting research but also can initiate and work with both practitioners and researchers in an international environment on how healthcare interventions can be designed and assessed (position 1).

The position requires sound verbal and written communication skills in Swedish and English. If Swedish is not your native language, you should be able to teach in Swedish after two years. Chalmers offers Swedish courses.

Chalmers continuously strives to be an attractive employer. Equality and diversity are substantial foundations in all activities at Chalmers.

Application deadline: 2015-04-17

For questions, please contact:
Ida Gremyr, Ph.D., Professor, Head of Division, Division of Quality Sciences
E-mail: ida.gremyr@chalmers.se, +46 31 7728182 (main contact for position 2)

Henrik Eriksson, Ph.D. Associate Professor, Division of Quality Sciences
E-mail: henrik.eriksson@chalmers.se, +46 31 7728184 (main contact for position 1)


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