Following a global search for the next generation of research talent in spring 2021, a group of PhD candidates has begun investigating a range of topics related to the impacts of digitalisation in the workplace, including the implications it may have on business innovation and employee training.
The 15 early-stage researchers, representing 10 different countries, have enrolled in universities across Europe and in Australia as part of the European Training Network for InduStry Digital Transformation across Innovation Ecosystems (EINST4INE), funded by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Innovative Training Networks (ITN) scheme.
“Being part of a large network of established, successful scholars will have a great impact on my research career,” said Contanze Leeb whose PhD at the University of Cambridge aims to help practitioners to tackle the large amounts of information produced by decision-making processes, for example through the use of Artificial Intelligence.
The EINST4INE research projects, complementary in nature, allow the doctoral candidates to conduct a comprehensive examination of the multi-disciplinary aspects of digital transformation.
Their aim? To generate new knowledge, tools, methods, and roadmaps to guide businesses in their digital evolution – placing them as future leaders, experts, and strategists of business and digital transformation.
Traversing the academic and business worlds, the researchers are examining the various multi-level aspects of digital transformation – defined as socioeconomic change – across individuals, organizations, ecosystems, and societies.
Sophie Altrock, an Early Stage Researcher at RMIT University, says that her research will help practitioners to understand the impact of digital innovation on workers and employee skillsets.
“I aim to provide guidance so that businesses can provide opportunities to employees to adapt to such workplace changes, and to encourage policy makers to take an active role, for example by providing an educational system that can sustain a workforce that is subject to technological developments and provide incentives
