About the Research

This postdoctoral research investigates resilience not as individual survival or as a psychological construct, but as a collective leadership capacity that emerges through community, connection, and collaboration

The project aims to

✓ Examine how can we co-create collective resilience among doctoral researchers

✓ Create participatory spaces for connection and collaboration beyond traditional academic boundaries

✓ Generate insights to support academic well-being and your own doctoral studies

✓ Inform educational policy for doctoral programs

Who Can Participate?

We welcome doctoral researchers from Finland representing diverse experiences: All research stages (beginning, middle, or final) All work arrangements (full-time or part-time) All backgrounds (international and domestic) All funding situations (funded, self-funded, or mixed)

Participation Options

Choose what works for you

Photovoice dialogue lab only
Appreciative inquiry dialogue lab only
Both labs (recommended for deeper engagement)

Schedule

Phase 1

Photovoice Lab: ~7.5 hours total over 3 weeks (includes 1.5 hours self-directed photography) (Includes 2 meetings of 2 hours each and one visual mapping session on collective resilience pathways)

Phase 2

Appreciative Inquiry Lab: ~ approximately 10 hours spread over 4 weeks (Includes 4 meetings of 2 hours each, 1 hour introduction to appreciative inquiry and 1.5 hour concluding session) Sessions scheduled flexibly to accommodate your schedule. All dialogue labs will include 5-7 researchers maximum and will be organized as group dialogues. Multiple such circles will be organized from March until mid May 2026.

Why Participate?

For You as a Participant:

Deepen Your Individual Awareness : You will be guided to examine what sustains you, what challenges you, and what resilience actually looks and feels like in your everyday academic life

Cultivate Collective Awareness By joining a small, diverse group of doctoral researchers, you will start to recognise shared experiences that cut across disciplines and backgrounds. This collective insight shifts isolation toward shared understanding and community building.

Build Collective Leadership Skills The lab is designed to support collaborative environments. Through dialogue and inquiry, you will develop generative listening skills, contribute intentionally to the dialogue, and influence the spaces where you and your peers work.

Discover New Ways of Knowing, Relating, Learning This research welcomes knowledge formed through dialogue, images, stories, and meaningful connection. Participation expands both your understanding and unique ways to co-create new knowledge.

Competencies to navigate uncertainties Both the participatory methodologies enable one to build relational leadership skills through collaborative and relational learning practices that are valuable in our current world of work and research. Experience Participatory research methodologies and learning community-based research practices.

Research Methods

The research employs participatory action research through two engaging approaches:

Photovoice Method—Utilizes photographs and dialogue to explore experiences of resilience, highlighting often-invisible aspects of doctoral life.
Appreciative Inquiry—Engages design thinking and dialogue to identify strengths and co-create strategies for building collective resilience.

INTERESTED IN PARTICIPATING?

Write to me at bhramamo@jyu.fi, and I will keep you updated on
the info session.

Invitation to Participate in a Research Project

I warmly invite you to join this research initiative that seeks to co-create a dialogical space, drawing inspiration and courage from my personal journey as a doctoral researcher in Finland.

Beyond Survival Mode: Cultivating Community-Based Resilience Among Doctoral Students in Finland Selviytymisen tuolla puolen: tohtorikoulutettavien yhteisöperusteinen resilienssi Suomessa

This research is funded by the Finnish Work Environment Fund (Työsuojelurahasto). Research Period: January - December 2026