This blog post is written by Jana-Sophie Effert, PhD candidate at TU Dortmund University.

A month back home in Germany: time enough to let impressions settle, but not quite enough for them to fade. After three months with Uppsala University’s HTO Research Group, I’m now back here on the blog to reflect on what those weeks have meant for me and my PhD journey. Since everyone at home keeps asking me about my experiences anyway, it feels like the perfect opportunity to bundle and share them here.

First things first: What I miss: The calmness of Swedish everyday life, being surrounded by nature, and that special kind of adventure that comes with living in another country. Further of course: colleagues, cinnamon buns and the HCI environment.

What I’m happy to have back: Of course, there’s comfort in returning home: subsidized student lunch options (no more microwavable meal-prep experiments!), being back in teaching, reconnecting with friends and family: simply enjoying the convenience of familiar surroundings. Yet even here, traces of Sweden remain; small habits and ideas keep resurfacing during daily work.

What I learned (even if it’s really hard to grasp)

1) Networking Across Fields

I was fortunate enough to join several events during my stay – from the DOME meeting on digital medical records and e-health services to national conferences on equal opportunities and social innovation in health. These experiences taught me how valuable spontaneous connections can be: finding overlaps between projects, brainstorming across disciplines, staying up-to-date with neighboring research fields. Networking turned out not just as professional exchange but as genuine inspiration.

2) Teaching From New Perspectives

One highlight was giving two guest lectures within HCI courses: From human-centered to intersectional design, another on work systems – socio-technical aspects of (in)accessible technologies. Sharing insights from rehabilitation sciences while learning how students approach inclusion through an HCI lens was a helpful angle and reminded me how much I like interacting with students‘ perspectives.

3) Feedback and Insights for my PhD Project

My research focuses on technologies supporting people with disabilities in work systems and their transitions into employment. During my stay, I not only had the chance to get feedback on my concrete approach and findings, but I also had the chance for job shadowing at Daglig Verksamhet in Sala. Observing inclusive practices firsthand offered new comparative insights for my project. These experiences helped refine questions about participation and technology use within real work environments.

4) Local Academic Routines

Academic life at Uppsala University left its mark: I participated in regular seminars, open group discussions, collaborative meetings. One thought that stuck with me is seeing this PhD journey again through its original purpose: becoming a “critical thinker,” not just an expert within a narrow niche.

Looking Ahead

Three months were certainly a good enough time to fill my head with thoughts and ideas. Now comes the part where these insights need sorting and weaving into ongoing projects here at TU Dortmund. Some collaborations initiated at UU are already continuing:

  • Participation & Accessibility: Together we’re developing a scoping review exploring how people with cognitive accessibility needs experience their involvement in Human-Centered Design or Co-Design activities.
  • Sustainability & Accessibility: We’re exchanging perspectives on sustainability and accessibility as value-based features of software development.

One thing is certain: I’m eager to return someday to this wonderful Swedish town, both professionally and personally. To anyone considering spending time with the HTO group: do it! Looking forward to being back, continuing working together and eventually share some joint research results on this blog 😊