During his PhD studies, Erik Nyberg sometimes struggled to find colleagues for interdisciplinary research projects and had the idea of a digital platform where he could source the perfect team. Now, he’s exploring whether there is potential to turn the idea into reality, using space as his test bed.

An unexpected finding from Erik Nyberg’s PhD is being piloted within the space innovation project RIT. As a start, Erik is aiming to recruit PhD students at Luleå University of Technology to a resource pool. By adding their portfolio and research interests to the database, they will be eligible for interdisciplinary collaborations that can benefit their current research, build a strong CV, and connect with future research or work opportunities. .

– My PhD was in an interdisciplinary field, so it quickly became clear to me that there is a big challenge in finding the right combination of talents for innovative breakthroughs. I want to create a platform where it’s easy and transparent for PhD students to find each other based on area of expertise, Erik explains.

Anna Öhrwall Rönnbäck, professor in product innovation, first heard of Erik’s idea a few years ago, as a result of the space innovation project course.

– It’s in the synergies between disciplines that we make some of the most disruptive discoveries and space applications are no different. An asset like this could potentially create great value for innovation eco systems by accelerating their capacity to design sustainable solutions, Anna says.

Find out more about Erik’s idea and the PhD network by contacting him directly: [email protected]