Mona Herden is a doctoral researcher at the Faculty of Psychology and Movement Science. Her research focusses on neuroscience in the mind-body connection, physical activity and specifically the effects of mindfulness-based interventions such as yoga on children’s brain health and cognitive function, including attention, inhibition, and executive control.

After one week in Lund, can you share any helpful tools, reflections, or insights you are taking with you for your next steps in your PhD journey?

One of my biggest takeaways from the EUGLOH Living Lab in Lund was the importance of occasionally stepping back from day-to-day research to reflect on the bigger picture of a PhD journey. Beyond practical tools for prioritization and productivity, I am taking with me valuable international connections, important perspectives on collaboration and responsible research, and greater confidence in navigating the uncertainty that is often part of doctoral research and quite universal.

In your field, what are the main challenges you face during your PhD, and how do you navigate them in practice? Why did you decide to apply for the one-week program "Crafting My PhD Journey"?

One of the main challenges I face is balancing long-term research goals with the many day-to-day tasks that come with a PhD. I navigate this by continuously reflecting on priorities and focusing on meaningful progress, taming my perfectionism. I applied because I wanted to learn from other disciplines and countries, gain new perspectives on the common PhD challenges and potential solutions, and reflecting and maybe adopting strategies for navigating my own doctoral journey.

How did it feel to step away from your daily research for a full week to focus on your PhD journey? Was there a "Lund moment" that made the experience especially valuable for you? 

Stepping away from my research for an entire week initially felt challenging, but it turned out to be one of the most valuable aspects of the program, as we were able to reflect more from a distance. My personal "Lund moment" was an exercise where we creatively mapped our PhD journey as kind of an unexplored island, including challenges, opportunities, milestones, and unknown territories ahead. Presenting these maps to each other sparked honest conversations about uncertainty, growth, and resilience during a PhD. It reminded me that while every research project is unique, many of the challenges we face are shared and that reflecting on the journey itself can be just as important as focusing on the end destination to see the whole picture.

Freeha Amna is a doctoral researcher at the Faculty of Education, University of Hamburg (UHH). She is investigating the beliefs of English language teachers in Pakistan about their use of technology in higher education classrooms.

After one week in Lund, can you share any helpful tools, reflections, or insights you are taking with you for your next steps in your PhD journey?

"Crafting My PhD Journey" helped me a lot because I met other students that were navigating their journeys just like me. I am glad that I applied for this event because it addressed questions that no one else was addressing.

In your field, what are the main challenges you face during your PhD, and how do you navigate them in practice? Why did you decide to apply for the one-week program "Crafting My PhD Journey"?

The main challenge at every stage of my PhD changed, so there has never been that ONE challenge rather every stage was a challenge, from writing a PhD proposal and finding the right professor and university, to applying for scholarships, then the actual research while tackling everyday life in a new country, loneliness, uncertainty and the concern for the family I left behind.

How did it feel to step away from your daily research for a full week to focus on your PhD journey? Was there a "Lund moment" that made the experience especially valuable for you?

Initially the journey to Lund was part of the challenges that I have opted to put myself through, travelling across Europe for the first time to discover new things. It was a pleasant surprise because my concerns and questions were validated, when everyone talked about their PhD journeys. I felt a reflection of my own in their experience, and I felt that I was neither stupid nor alone while navigating these uncertain paths. Some of the fog was lifted and the path forward became clearer. The walk through the beautiful and dreamy campus of the university was the perfect finish for this course.

Nadia Blüthmann is a doctoral researcher at the Hamburg Center for University Teaching and Learning (HUL). She is focussing on the sense of belonging among university students on the autism spectrum.

After one week in Lund, can you share any helpful tools, reflections, or insights you are taking with you for your next steps in your PhD journey?

I found it extremely helpful to view my PhD project as a journey – one with incredibly beautiful sights and things I’d never seen before, but also with obstacles and even a few dangers lurking somewhere.

In your field, what are the main challenges you face during your PhD, and how do you navigate them in practice? Why did you decide to apply for the one-week program "Crafting My PhD Journey"?

My PhD project is, so to speak, something I’m doing 'on top': alongside a full-time job and bringing up two children. It’s a huge challenge, which I’m trying to tackle with a great deal of commitment, good organisation and a healthy dose of optimism. I applied for the program in Lund to take a moment to pause and reflect along the way.

How did it feel to step away from your daily research for a full week to focus on your PhD journey? Was there a "Lund moment" that made the experience especially valuable for you?

My "Lund moment" took place outside the workshop, but within the university itself: I got so inspired during those days that I would always arrive at the university really early in the mornings before the program began and work on my PhD in a study room surrounded by swedish students. The whole atmosphere of the program was so productive that I returned to Hamburg feeling full of energy and motivation.

Aditya Gandotra is a doctoral researcher at Albrecht Mendelssohn Bartholdy Graduate School of Law, University of Hamburg (UHH). He is focussing on how international investment law and abitration shape, constrain, and can be reformed to better protect public health regulation and policy space.

After one week in Lund, can you share any helpful tools, reflections, or insights you are taking with you for your next steps in your PhD journey?

The workshop gave me simple tools to plan my PhD better, especially by setting clear goals and managing my time more carefully. It also reminded me to stop and think regularly about my progress, so I can stay focused and not get overwhelmed.

In your field, what are the main challenges you face during your PhD, and how do you navigate them in practice? Why did you decide to apply for the one-week program "Crafting My PhD Journey"?

In my PhD, the biggest challenge is balancing deep legal analysis with a clear human concern, i.e., how international investment law can limit a state’s ability to protect public health. I handle this by breaking my work into small questions, reading widely, and regularly checking whether my argument is still practical and relevant. The reason I applied for the workshop was to gain structure, reflect on my progress, and learn better ways to manage the long and often uncertain PhD path.

How did it feel to step away from your daily research for a full week to focus on your PhD journey? Was there a "Lund moment" that made the experience especially valuable for you?

It was both calming and eye-opening to step away from my daily research for a full week. I got the space to slow down, breathe, and see my PhD not just as deadlines and readings, but as a bigger personal and academic journey. A special "Lund moment" was realizing that reflection is not a pause from research; in fact, it is a part of doing better research. That week helped me feel more organized, more confident, and more connected to my long-term path.