Centre for Qualitative Research

Centre for Qualitative Research : Event Report

The Third collaborative meeting with Vaxjo University, Sweden
Vaxjo, Sweden, 19-20 May 2005
Report by Professor Les Todres

HSC participants: Kate Galvin, Les Todres, Steven Keen, Carol Lewis, Karen Rees

This visit was hosted by Karen Dahlberg, Professor of Caring Science at Vaxjo University as part of an ongoing and developing collaboration between our schools. Vaxjo University was generous in sponsoring our accommodation and meals at Teleborg Slott, a gothic but friendly castle near the university campus, and provided a very hospitable programme which included a tour of their campus as well as visits to world renowned local glass factories such as Kosta Boda.

The aim of this visit was to finalise a joint publication on the conceptual foundations of lifeworld-led care for the journal Medical Humanities, to consider a joint research project about establishing a quality-controlled database for collecting phenomenological research findings, to hear a progress report of their funded research project that tests a model of lifeworld-led education, and to pursue together how lifeworld perspectives interact with a broader concern to clarify the meaning of 'citizenship' as it relates to health and social care. A lively and mutually enriching dialogue occurred and included presentations by Karen Rees on her experiences of using phenomenological studies within undergraduate nursing curricula, Steven Keen on a systematic review that he had conducted on interesting alternative ways of disseminating qualitative research findings, Carol Lewis on the positioning of the 'user' within debates around social exclusion and citizenship, and Swedish colleagues, who offered an innovative model of student education that is potentially transferable to our own health and social care curricula. Building on previous meetings and exchanges (International Report 2004) which explored the possibilities for staff exchange, Les Todres stayed on to teach for two days on Vaxjo's professional doctoral programme. Hosted by our Centre for Qualitative Research, Karin Dahlberg had taught a masterclass at Bournemouth University earlier in the year,

Plans on the horizon that we hope to pursue at the next collaborative meeting in Bournemouth include drawing up a memorandum of collaboration between our two universities to formalise our ongoing work, exploring the possibility of exchanging doctoral level examiners, and cross-university student collaboration and exchange on courses, seminars and publication activity.

One of our colleagues summarised his experience of the visit as…. "relief in the form of new colleagues, new ideas, new discussion, wonderful hospitality, plenty of food, and a castle in abundance."