Hello Katie, what happens next?
Katie Berns successfully defended her PhD thesis on September 22, 2023, at the Department of Computer and Systems Sciences (DSV). What has her PhD journey been like, and what will she do now? We decided to ask her.
Congrats again! It’s been a few days, how do you feel?
“Thank you! It feels great but also surreal to have reached the end of my PhD journey. The past five years have somehow passed by slowly and quickly at the same time. The defence was a great experience. I was lucky to have a fantastic opponent and grading committee who lead an engaging discussion around my research and how I might develop it in the future. It was of course also wonderful to have so many of my family, friends and colleagues there to support me.”
Why did you decide to do your PhD here at DSV?
“Since studying for my Bachelor’s degree I have had the goal of pursuing a PhD in the back of my mind – something I would do far in the future. I took my Master’s degree in Denmark and was working for a startup there when a mentor of mine shared the open position at DSV. The topic really resonated with me.”
What will you remember from your PhD journey?
“Alongside the friendships I have developed at DSV, some of my fondest memories are travelling to different locations for conferences – in particular the DRS conference in Bilbao right after covid. And it was a milestone having my first paper accepted for publication at CHI!”
When did you develop your interest in food waste and sustainability?
“I became interested in food sustainability while I worked as a chef during a two-year working holiday in Vancouver, Canada. I then became interested in food waste more specifically through my participation in the food-sharing community in Copenhagen back in 2016.”
So, what happens next for you?
“In two weeks, I will move to Helsinki for a postdoc in Service Design for Climate Policy at the Sustainable Design Research Group in the Department of Design, Aalto University. The position is part of the ICOS Cities project funded by the European Union Horizon 2020 instrument. I will engage with a broad range of stakeholders, for example climate scientists and governance actors, to develop new service prototypes connecting observational emissions data produced by ICOS to the needs of various users present in the climate policy context. However, I will also continue to collaborate with DSV researchers on some projects connected to community-led food waste reduction.”
More information
Katie Berns has been interviewed about the results in her PhD thesis.
Read the article in English: “Interactive technology contributes to success of voluntary communities”
Or in Swedish: ”Interaktiv teknologi nyckeln till framgång för frivilliga nätverk”
The title of her PhD thesis is “Designing Community Economies: Exploring Alternatives for Infrastructuring Food Waste Activism”.
It can be downloaded from Diva
Associate professor Chiara Rossitto, DSV, was the main supervisor and professor Jakob Tholander, DSV, was the supervisor. Professor Danielle Wilde, Umeå University, was the opponent.
Text: Åse Karlén
Last updated: September 29, 2023
Source: Department of Computer and Systems Sciences, DSV