Leadership for learning and quality in complex contexts
As a PhD student in quality engineering at Mid Sweden University, Gulli Saeidyfar combines practical leadership with research. Her work focuses on how project managers can promote learning, quality and sustainable development in project-based activities.
Tell us a little about yourself, what is your background?
I am a PhD student in quality technology and work in parallel at the Swedish Transport Administration. I lead projects and programs and have extensive experience in running business development initiatives in complex organizational environments.
By combining practical leadership with doctoral studies, I have developed a strong interest in how leadership, learning and quality interact in large change and development projects.
Why did you choose to complete your PhD studies at Mid Sweden University?
I chose to carry out my doctoral studies at Mid Sweden University because the research environment in quality technology combines strong theoretical grounding with a clear focus on practice-based and socially relevant research.
The team of supervisors and the interdisciplinary environment were also important factors in my decision, as were the opportunity to conduct research in close collaboration with organisations undergoing change.
What is your research about?
My research is about how project managers in complex environments exercise leadership to promote learning and quality in project-based organizations, especially in the public sector and transport-related activities.
I study how complexity is experienced in practice and what strategies are used to create space for learning, innovation and quality development in everyday project work.
What development or improvements do you hope your research will contribute to?
My goal is to reduce the gap between leadership theory and practical everyday life by developing knowledge about how leaders can create conditions for learning, quality and sustainable development in an increasingly complex world that places higher demands on organizations.
I also want to contribute with concrete insights and ways of working that strengthen organizational learning, support sustainable change processes and make it easier to put quality principles into practice.
How has your time with us as a PhD student been so far?
My first time as a PhD student has been intense and very developing. The work has consisted of several parallel studies, international conference contexts and close collaboration with organizations in practice.
I experience the PhD period as a unique opportunity to combine my professional experience with in-depth scientific analysis in a research environment where collaboration between academia and practice is at the center.