This article was originally published on 31 October 2020
– This research programme is unique in Norway. It is a broad education based on four scientific areas; social, health, public health and sports science. The programme can, over time, provide a boost in competence in the field of health for the entire region, says Kathrine Skretting, INN University’s rector.
Collaboration with the hospital
Already in 2017, INN University and Innlandet Hospital Trust signed a letter of intent that such a programme should be established at INN University. The background was a significant need for competence and education at the researcher level within health and welfare in the region.
The merger of Lillehammer University College and Hedmark University of Applied Sciences also contributed to the new institution having a much larger competence environment than before.
– Cooperation with the hospital will strengthen this investment and is important for the establishment of this new educational offer. Collaboration affords us the potential to build a stronger academic environment and a greater selection of PhD students, says Skretting.
– At any given time we have many employees in doctoral programmes who need different types of research courses as part of their PhD studies. We are pleased that INN University is now focusing on establishing such an offer as part of its doctoral education portfolio, says Ingeborg Hartz, research director for Innlandet Hospital Trust.
Norwegian Agency for Quality Assurance in Education (NOKUT) shall process the application for having the new doctoral education approved.
Relevant to many
The research education is relevant for candidates from all master's programmes at the Faculty of Social and Health Sciences at INN University.
It may also be of interest for candidates with a relevant background from other faculties at the institution, other university colleges and universities, and for research fellows at Innlandet Hospital Trust and other hospitals.
Through the programme, PhD fellows and researchers will develop knowledge about how health and welfare are affected by biological, social, educational, organizational, economic and political conditions. An important purpose is for the knowledge to be applied and act as a catalyst for innovation in the services provided to users of health and welfare services and the population as a whole.
– If NOKUT accredits the programme, Norway will receive a new doctoral offer that is distinctly interdisciplinary. It builds on the interdisciplinarity and holistic approach that already characterizes our research environment within health and social sciences, says Kathrine Skretting.
Contact:
Dean Ingrid Guldvik, Faculty of Social and Health Sciences, INN University, tel. 938 43 072, email: ingrid.guldvik@inn.no