WATCH Research School
WATCH – Water challenges in sustainable planning and the built environment – is a multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary research school for seven doctoral students in biology, chemistry, human geography, risk and environmental studies, sociology, and political science.
Running from 1 September 2023 – 31 August 2027
- Doctoral students take joint doctoral courses in year one (15 credits).
- Joint seminars and other activities are organised each academic year.
- Follow WATCH on LinkedIn for the latest news about the research school.
The research school is conducted by Örebro University and Karlstad University in collaboration with the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB), Svenskt Vatten (“Swedish water”), the County Administrative Boards of Örebro County and Värmland County, as well as the municipalities in Örebro and Karlstad. WATCH is financed through the research council Formas within the framework of the strategic agenda for sustainable spatial planning.
The starting point for the research within WATCH is to identify and understand solutions to the increasing challenges arising from strategies for sustainable planning and the built environment, such as densification, waterfront development, and water use, as well as water challenges in the form of flooding, drinking water shortage, water pollution, etc. The research school aims to develop interdisciplinary, transformative knowledge that will contribute to helping various actors working in sectors relevant to sustainable planning at the national, regional, and local levels meet these challenges.
Through cooperation in a joint degree programme consisting of postgraduate courses, seminars, and conferences, WATCH will contribute to creating interdisciplinary perspectives and links between the various doctoral students' research projects and between academia and practice.
Doctoral subjects within WATCH
Each doctoral student participating in the WATCH research school is a doctoral subject at either Örebro University (biology, chemistry, human geography, sociology, and political science) or Karlstad University (human geography, risk and environmental studies) and conducts research in an individual doctoral project within the framework of WATCH's overarching theme. The research coordinated within WATCH is practice-oriented and challenge-driven, meaning each doctoral project is linked to one or more collaborating partners above.
The research school is led by Ida Andersson, docent at Örebro University and director, and Moa Tunström, senior lecturer at Karlstad University and deputy director.
