Doctoral School

Doctoral seminar on research in well-being enhancing consumption

Target audience

This course offers a practical blueprint for transforming research ideas into relevant and well-founded methodologies. It is particularly suited for early- and mid-stage doctoral students who want to gain a solid understanding of the practical aspects of interdisciplinary and societally relevant academic research. The course is open to students from the social sciences who focus on well-being enhancing behavior—such as healthy, sustainable, and ethical behavior.

Organizing and scientific committee

Iris Vermeir, Eva Heeremans, Hendrik Slabbinck.Bert Weijters, Pieter Van Dessel, Joachim Schouteten & Hans de Steur

Abstract

Doctoral students will develop essential knowledge and skills related to research methodologies across various disciplines—including psychology, consumer research and agricultural and behavioral economics. They will learn to formulate clear research questions on well-being enhancing topics, select appropriate methodological approaches, collaborate effectively within multidisciplinary teams, and present their work to both academic and professional audiences. The course places particular emphasis on designing and co‑creating research based on a practical research question provided by a practitioner, addressing societal challenges in general and consumer well‑being in particular.

Objectives

Given the complex and multifaceted nature of today’s grand societal challenges, future PhD students must develop a multi-perspectival understanding and approach to effectively address these issues. This course aims to equip doctoral students with the skills to conduct societal relevant and high-quality interdisciplinary (applied) research on well-being enhancing consumption—such as sustainable, healthy, and ethical consumption. The focus lies on bridging the gap between initial research ideas and the practical implementation of a research project that has both academic and societal value and impact. Working in interdisciplinary teams, students from various faculties will collaboratively develop research ideas related to (consumer) well-being to answer a practical research question of a practitioner. These ideas will be translated into concrete research proposals, including clearly defined research questions and appropriate methodologies, structured as a series of studies with relevance for both academic and real-world practice. The proposals will be further refined, methodologically elaborated, and presented to both academic and professional audiences. 

Dates and venue

Day 1: 19/10 van 10u00 tot 16u00 – lokaal 1.10 Sint-Pietersplein 7

Day 2: 26/10 van 10u00 tot 16u00 – lokaal 1.2 Hoveniersberg

Day 3: 12/11 van 10u00 tot 13u00 – lokaal 2.1 Hoveniersberg

Day 4: 16/11 van 10u00 tot 13u00 – lokaal 1.10 Sint-Pietersplein 7

Day 5: 26/11 van 10u00 tot 16u00 – lokaal 1.2 Hoveniersberg

Day 6: 11/12 van 13u00 tot 16u00 – lokaal 2.1 Hoveniersberg

Programme

Day 1: 

Lecture 1: Course overview, the multifaceted nature of today's grand challenges, the need for interdisciplinary research, how to formulate rigorous and societal relevant research questions and how to write applied research proposals- tenders. 
Presentations research problems by practitioners. 
Guided Brainstorm 1: Initial idea generation (supervised by at least 3 faculty members).

DAY 2: 

Lecture 2: Overview of most commonly used theoretical models in well-being research
Guided Brainstorm 2: from broad research idea to specific research questions (supervised by at least 3 faculty members)  

DAY 3: 

Lecture 3: Overview of most commonly used research methods in (consumer) well-being research

DAY 4: 

Lecture 4: : Overview of most commonly used research methods in (consumer) well-being research 
Guided Brainstorm 3: Translate research questions into a coherent and feasible research methodology (supervised by at least 3 faculty members)

DAY 5:

Intermediate Presentations & feedback: presentations research methodology with questions & feedback
Guided brainstorm 4: Based on the received feedback, students select the research design with the highest potential and finalize their research design (supervised by at least 3 faculty members)
Workshop how to pitch
Guided brainstorm 5: translating the selected research design to a pitch for an academic and non-academic audience. (supervised by at least 3 faculty members)

DAY 6:

Final presentation: Pitching research idea and approach to academic and non-academic audience

Registration

  • Follow this link for the registration and waiting list. We check if you are eligible to participate. Due to limited places, we give priority to PhD students. Your registration will be confirmed by separate e-mail (outlook invite).
  • Cancellation of your registration can only be performed by sending an email to doctoralschools@ugent.be.

  • The no show policy applies.

Registration fee

Free of charge for Doctoral School members.

Number of participants

Maximum 16

Language

English

Training method

Lectures ex-cathedra on research questions and research methodologies in different fields (9 hours)

Guided brainstorm discussions within interdisciplinary teams (supervised by faculty staff/members; 6 hours)

Developing scientific communication skills: pitches/presentations (1 hour)

Presentations (to academic audience and practitioners, 3 hours). 

Throughout the course, faculty members will offer insights, guidance, feedback, and support on research ideas and presentations, drawing on methodologies from various disciplines like psychology, consumer research and agricultural and behavioral economics. All ideas developed during the week will be collected and displayed, serving as a foundation for potential follow-up projects. These ideas can be further developed by participating doctoral students, in consultation with their doctoral advisors, to foster interdisciplinary research collaborations.

Evaluation method

Attendance, presentations, active participation. The course requires active participation: you will work in multidisciplinary research teams on a series of assignments. Together with your team, you will discuss, develop, and present research ideas.

After successful participation, the Doctoral School Office will add this course to your curriculum of the Doctoral Training Programme in Oasis. Please note that this can take up to one to two months after completion of the course.