Nicola Mountford

"As we enter the Transformative Age of digital and green transitions, the European Commission and other global policy-makers herald universities as key players in innovation and transformation. PhD students ostensibly represent the pinnacle of higher education and suitable candidates for policymakers’ visions. Academic research has shown that traditional PhD programmes may fail to equip their graduates with the necessary skills and knowledge required. Practitioners’ voices have, however, been less well heard. We review thirteen policy and industry reports relating to doctoral education including EU policy documents, wider policy contributions across the EU, and industry-led reports. We also conduct thirteen semi-structured interviews with PhD employers or experts in PhD recruitment/placement. Findings highlight the lack of transferable skills in doctoral graduates, but also shed new light on attributes and experience as key hiring factors. We examine interdisciplinarity and intersectorality as potential solutions to employer and policymaker demands."

"Collaborative doctoral programmes assist the knowledge society in finding innovative ways to address sustainable development goals by asking creative questions and finding creative solutions. The aim of CHAMELEONS (Championing A Multi-Sectoral Education and Learning Experience to Open New Pathways for Doctoral Students, H2020-SwafS-2018-2020), is to develop interdisciplinary, inter-sectoral and international modules that broaden the skills of PhD graduates improving their employability in academic and non-academic environments. Through a co-design process 4 learning outcomes were developed which formed the foundation for 3 modules. Each module advanced the students’ depth of knowledge and understanding. The 4 learning outcomes were as follows: • Develop networking and communication skills; • Understand user-centred design; • Market research capacity and research skills; and • Build an understanding of themselves and others. Fifteen doctoral students from five European universities were recruited. This paper represents evaluation conducted on the first two modules which, due to COVID-19 restrictions, were delivered via Zoom. At the conclusion of each module the students were invited to complete a questionnaire consisting of sixteen questions, thirteen of which were on a five-point Likert Scale, and three of which were free text. The closed questions explored student perceptions of: programme objectives; programme delivery; opportunities to engage; satisfaction; and links between theory and practice. Students were asked to identify three aspects of the module which assisted their learning, three changes they would suggest to enhance their learning, and were offered the opportunity to provide additional comments. Programme content: Students perceived that real-time assessment, reflective learning, engagement with course coordinators and the opportunity to engage with practical research tools (Photovoice, Ecosystem Mapping and Walk My ID) all enhanced their learning. They suggested more group activities, breakout groups (possibly themed), and real-life coffee breaks, to enable them to better network with their doctoral colleagues. There was a desire for more practical activities with some suggesting the development of career-pathway skills (Curriculum Vitae, Interviews). Programme delivery: A theme that frequently appeared was the desire to have more physical face-to-face engagements in Module Three. The students understood the Covid-19 constraints but expressed a strong desire for meeting face-to-face. When given the opportunity to add freeform and unprompted comments, students almost without exception expressed their satisfaction with both modules, and their appreciation for them. Nevertheless, a number of participants reiterated their desire to undertake Module Three in person. Programme outcomes: One student expressed an aspiration to be “more sure” of their skill set and marketability upon completion of Module Three complimenting the focus on practical learning in the programme content review."

Solving grand societal challenges such as equitable healthcare provision and climate change will require institutional entrepreneurs – people who can challenge prevailing regulations, behaviors, and ways of thinking. As the pinnacle of educational achievement, the doctoral degree should be the fire in which such fledgling institutional entrepreneurs are forged. Doctoral education has, however, been criticized as overspecialized and divorced from reality. We systematically review the doctoral education literature in our search for doctoral education programs that challenge institutional norms by bridging sectoral and disciplinary divides. We ask whether such programs can help to nurture institutionally entrepreneurial researchers. We find that students must manage ambiguous identities and wide networks but that such programs have the potential to equip them for both sense-making and sense-giving activities of institutional entrepreneurship.

Typically, less than half of doctoral graduates will be employed in academia immediately after graduation, with less than 10%-15% achieving a long-term academic career. This leaves 85-90% of PhD graduates seeking employment outside the academic setting, for example in industry and government. The objective of the CHAMELEONS study (CHampioning A Multi-sectoral Education and Learning Experience to Open New pathways for doctoral Students) is to develop innovative educational interventions that shape more adaptable, entrepreneurial, and employable graduates, ready to meet the challenges of the future. Stakeholders from the connected health industry, clinical care, charities, patients, patient representatives, government, recent doctoral graduates, and academics were invited to participate in a “World Café” participatory method for collecting qualitative data. Owing to the COVID-19 health situation this took place via Zoom. Analysis of the results revealed 4 key learning objectives for d...

As markets become increasingly complex it is more and more important that we understand their underlying market networks. While much research has been conducted into the interrelationships and impacts between the firm and the network, less attention has been paid to the study of the whole network itself. Understanding the origins, structures, and potential futures of whole market networks is vital to the understanding of whole markets. This is particularly the case in light of the multiplicity of societal and institutional conditions attached to an increasingly globalized economy. The insertion of technology into incumbent markets such as finance or healthcare causes market and network evolutions that firms must understand if they are to navigate them safely. Traditional business research methods are, however, often locked to the firm perspective through case study approaches, or quantitative network analyses. Despite some recent methods that take a more situated, biographical appro...

It has been found that most PhD graduates (>85%) do not achieve a long-term academic career and thus there is a growing need to re-imagine PhD education that incentivizes doctoral students to engage with research consumers, not only within their discipline, but also, across other disciplines and sectors to have real social impact for an improved society. The aim of this work is to identify intersectoral/interdisciplinary courses that are considered to broaden student career outside and inside academia. For this purpose, a survey was designed to identify modules which lead to the improvement of students' skills while an analysis of their attributes was also performed. Two target groups have been considered: (a) young researchers and (b) program directors each of which can provide different information regarding the courses of interest. 52 students and 11 directors from 5 European Universities, participated in the study. An absence of such courses in the standard PhD program wa...

This chapter combines two streams of scholarship—social media marketing and influence, and market organization—to examine two case studies of patient activism in the context of Irish drug pricing. The first is the provision of Orkambi, a drug for cystic fibrosis, which was approved in Ireland after eleven months of state/pharma negotiations held in a context of public debate and social media campaigning by people living with cystic fibrosis, their loved ones, and their advocates. The second case concerns the provision of Spinraza, a drug for patients with spinal muscular atrophy. In each case the chapter identifies key actors and tracks their social media activity with a view to identifying key turning points in the debate, relational links, and shifts. Ultimately the goal is to understand how activist organizations and individuals organize and reorganize the pharmaceutical market and the collective good through their actions and interactions on social media.

We borrow the notion of field from institutional theory to think through how markets and their ‘outsides’–or at least one particular manifestation of an ‘outside’–stand in a dynamic and interactive relationship. We distinguish the field and the market in terms of issues versus exchange and identity versus position. We argue that the lack of clarity as to how fields and markets differ, relate, overlap, and are bounded, jeopardizes our ability to address important societal debates concerning the roles of markets within and across other areas of social life. It also hinders a consolidation of insights across different approaches to studying markets, even though researchers from different disciplines often address similar concerns. Key questions for which both conceptual and analytical clarity are essential include how markets and their ‘outsides’ (here: fields) intersect; whether and how diverse sets of actors interact, work, and migrate between fields and markets; and what dynamics ma...

We borrow the notion of field from institutional theory to think through how markets and their ‘outsides’–or at least one particular manifestation of an ‘outside’–stand in a dynamic and interactive relationship. We distinguish the field and the market in terms of issues versus exchange and identity versus position. We argue that the lack of clarity as to how fields and markets differ, relate, overlap, and are bounded, jeopardizes our ability to address important societal debates concerning the roles of markets within and across other areas of social life. It also hinders a consolidation of insights across different approaches to studying markets, even though researchers from different disciplines often address similar concerns. Key questions for which both conceptual and analytical clarity are essential include how markets and their ‘outsides’ (here: fields) intersect; whether and how diverse sets of actors interact, work, and migrate between fields and markets; and what dynamics ma...

We borrow the notion of field from institutional theory to think through how markets and their ‘outsides’–or at least one particular manifestation of an ‘outside’–stand in a dynamic and interactive relationship. We distinguish the field and the market in terms of issues versus exchange and identity versus position. We argue that the lack of clarity as to how fields and markets differ, relate, overlap, and are bounded, jeopardizes our ability to address important societal debates concerning the roles of markets within and across other areas of social life. It also hinders a consolidation of insights across different approaches to studying markets, even though researchers from different disciplines often address similar concerns. Key questions for which both conceptual and analytical clarity are essential include how markets and their ‘outsides’ (here: fields) intersect; whether and how diverse sets of actors interact, work, and migrate between fields and markets; and what dynamics ma...

BACKGROUND This paper examines the development of the Connected Health research landscape with a view on providing a historical perspective on existing Connected Health research. Connected Health has become a rapidly growing research field as our healthcare system is facing pressured to become more proactive and patient centred. OBJECTIVE We aimed to identify the extent and coverage of the current body of knowledge in Connected Health. With this, we want to identify which topics have drawn the attention of Connected health researchers, and if there are gaps or interdisciplinary opportunities for further research. METHODS We used a systematic mapping study that combines scientific contributions from research on medicine, business, computer science and engineering. We analyse the papers with seven classification criteria, publication source, publication year, research types, empirical types, contribution types research topic and the condition studied in the paper. RESULTS Altogether, ...

BACKGROUND Connected Health (CH) technologies have resulted in a paradigm shift moving healthcare steadily towards a more patient-centred delivery approach. CH requires a broad range of disciplinary expertise from across the spectrum working in a cohesive and productive way. Building this interdisciplinary relationship at an earlier stage of career development may nurture and accelerate the CH developments and innovations required for future healthcare. OBJECTIVE This study explored the possibility of developing an interdisciplinary education module involving disciplines currently engaged in CH research (engineers, computer scientists, healthcare practitioners, policy makers). METHODS A mixed methods, multi stage research approach was adopted which involved a review of the literature, individual interviews with CH researchers in Greece (n=9) and structured group feedback sessions with CH researchers in Ireland (n=10/16). Thematic analysis was used to identify the themes emerging fro...

We live in an era where models of governing are changing rapidly under multifaceted evolutionary pressures and where, at the same time, organizational fields are becoming increasingly networked. With this paper, we add to the field dynamics literature, focusing on the space where these evolutionary pressures coincide – the interactions of Governments and interorganizational networks. We examine the roles that interorganizational networks play in relation to Government actors under particular long- and short-term institutional and governance conditions. We articulate four roles that networks may play in relation to Government: advocate, technology, judge and ruler. We argue that long-term institutional logics, combined with short-term Government action in response to a particular field evolution, may predict the role that the interorganizational network will assume in relation to Government in that particular field scenario. We discuss flows through the typology as conditions change ...

As cancer survival rates increase, the challenge of ensuring that cancer survivors reclaim their quality of life (QoL) becomes more important. This paper outlines the research element of a research and training program that is designed to do just that. Bridging sectors, disciplines, and geographies, it brings together eight PhD projects and students from across Europe to identify the underlying barriers, test different technology-enabled rehabilitative approaches, propose a model to optimize the patient pathways, and examine the business models that might underpin a sustainable approach to cancer survivor reintegration using technology. The program, funded under the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No 722012, includes deep disciplinary PhD projects, intersectoral and international secondments, interdisciplinary plenary training schools, and virtual subject-specific education modules. The 8 students hav...

BACKGROUND This paper examines the development of the Connected Health research landscape with a view on providing a historical perspective on existing Connected Health research. Connected Health has become a rapidly growing research field as our healthcare system is facing pressured to become more proactive and patient centred. OBJECTIVE We aimed to identify the extent and coverage of the current body of knowledge in Connected Health. With this, we want to identify which topics have drawn the attention of Connected health researchers, and if there are gaps or interdisciplinary opportunities for further research. METHODS We used a systematic mapping study that combines scientific contributions from research on medicine, business, computer science and engineering. We analyse the papers with seven classification criteria, publication source, publication year, research types, empirical types, contribution types research topic and the condition studied in the paper. RESULTS Altogether, ...