About us

We are a small research group investigating various aspects of integration into Norwegian society among African minority communities. Through qualitative methods, we have examined the fear of CPS among Africans and minority perspectives on elder care in Norway. Currently, we are planning two to three projects that will examine changing gender relations in the African diaspora and organisations that promote the interests of Africans in Norway, respectively.

We are looking for

We have access to extensive professional networks and research contexts. However, it is advantageous if a candidate with an African ethnic background who wishes to conduct research, either on gender relations or organisational life, can draw at least partially on private contacts and network resources. Other projects and approaches concerning the African diaspora in Norway are of interest to us, and we can facilitate collaboration.

We expect two or three candidates to conduct interviews or participatory observations and to contribute to the research group’s focus. In return, candidates will receive supervision by researchers working in the field and participate as members of the group. The projects might be relevant to social work students, child welfare students, family therapy students, and, perhaps especially, international students (NORPOL).

Contact person

Kjetil Wathne  kjetwa@oslomet.no

English translation below

Om stiftelsen Impact

Stiftelsen IMPACT Norway ble stiftet i 1995 og arbeider med å forebygge og behandle unødvendig funksjonsnedsettelse blant mennesker i lavinntektsland, med særlig søkelys på vanskelig tilgjengelige områder i bl.a. Nepal, India, Bangladesh og Kambodsja. Gjennom innovative og kostnadseffektive løsninger, tilbyr IMPACT helsetjenester på både klinikker og landbaserte eller flytende sykehus, for å kunne foreta nødvendig medisinsk behandling. Hvis folk ikke kan komme til sykehuset, bringer IMPACT helsetilbudet til der de bor. Ett av hovedområdene er enkel kirurgi som gir folk tilbake syn, hørsel eller bevegelighet.

Om prosjektet

IMPACT skal starte et pilotprosjekt i Bangladesh der anslagsvis 1200 personer vil bli operert i løpet av ett år. IMPACT Norway ønsker å utvikle pilotstudien til et 5-årig prosjekt i Bangladesh. I tillegg er siktemålet å skalere antall som opereres og gjennomføre tilsvarende studier i Nepal, India, Bangladesh og Kambodsja. Utover det å dokumentere antall opererte, har IMPACT Norway startet et arbeid som også skal analysere og konkretisere sosiale aspekter knyttet til operasjonene, ringvirkninger og sosial verdiskaping.

IMPACT ønsker å knytte til seg masterstudenter fra Institutt for sosialfag, OsloMet (spesielt sosialt arbeid og NORPOL). Disse inviteres til å skrive sine masteroppgaver på temaer innenfor arbeidet som IMPACT utfører i disse landene. Studentenes arbeider skal inngå i en evaluering av det forebyggende og behandlende arbeidet til IMPACT. Det er aktuelt med både kvalitative og kvantitative dataanalyser. Masteroppgavene skal bidra til bedre forståelse av kvaliteten på IMPACTs prosjekter og konkretisere sosiale ringvirkninger av arbeidet, samt gi konkrete læringspunkter for IMPACT. OsloMet bidrar med veiledning.

IMPACT Norway utlyser stipend til 2 mastergradsstudenter på NOK 30.000 pr. student. Stipendet skal dekke reise og oppholdsutgifter og datainnsamling i Bangladesh i 2026-2027.

Kontaktperson

Professor May-Britt Solem og Professor Rune Halvorsen (OsloMet) vil velge ut stipendmottakerne.

Henvendelser om prosjektet kan rettes til May Britt Solem maybr@oslomet.no.

Impact Project in Bangladesh

About the Impact Organization

IMPACT is a global project-based organization originating from the United Nations in 1983. A number of local, politically and religiously neutral foundations are united in a network—the International Federation of IMPACT Organizations (IFIO)—which today consists of 11 autonomous, non-profit foundations. The Norwegian foundation is led by a board with broad experience and a strong passion for helping people in need. Our approach is based on respect for local needs and culture, and we work closely with local communities to finance and support projects that generate significant social value.

IMPACT Norway was established in 1995 and works to prevent and treat unnecessary disability among people in low-income countries, with particular focus on hard-to-reach areas in, among others, Nepal, India, Bangladesh, and Cambodia. Through innovative and cost-effective solutions, IMPACT provides healthcare services at clinics as well as land-based or floating hospitals in order to deliver necessary medical treatment. “If people cannot come to the hospital, IMPACT brings healthcare to where they live.” One of the main focus areas is basic surgery that restores sight, hearing, or mobility.

About this Project

IMPACT will launch a pilot project in Bangladesh in which approximately 1,200 people will undergo surgery over the course of one year. IMPACT Norway aims to develop the pilot study into a five-year project in Bangladesh. In addition, the objective is to scale up the number of surgeries and conduct similar studies in Nepal, India, Bangladesh, and Cambodia. Beyond documenting the number of surgeries performed, IMPACT Norway has initiated work to analyze and concretize the social aspects related to the operations, including ripple effects and social value creation.

IMPACT seeks to engage master’s students from the Institute of Social Work, OsloMet (study options NORPOL and Social Work) These students are invited to write their master’s theses on topics related to the work carried out by IMPACT in these countries. The students’ work will form part of an evaluation of IMPACT’s preventive and therapeutic activities. Both qualitative and quantitative data analyses are relevant.

The master’s theses are intended to contribute to a better understanding of the quality of IMPACT’s projects, to concretize the social impacts of the work, and to provide concrete learning points for IMPACT.

Specifically, the collaboration will include the following:

1. IMPACT Norway will announce scholarships for two master’s students in the amount of NOK 30,000 per student. The scholarship will cover travel, accommodation, and data collection in Bangladesh in 2026–2027.
2. The Department of Social Work, OsloMet, will seek to recruit two master’s students for the scholarships.
3. May-Britt Solem and Rune Halvorsen (OsloMet) will select the scholarship recipients.
4. The Department of Social Work will appoint supervisors.

IMPACT Norway and the Department of Social Work, OsloMet, intend to continue the collaboration after completion of the pilot project in 2026–27. Professor Emerita May-Britt Solem, Faculty Resource Center, OsloMet, will serve as the project’s academic advisor.

Contact Person

Professor May Britt Solem maybr@oslomet.no

Professor May-Britt Solem and Professor Rune Halvorsen (OsloMet) will select the scholarship recipients.

Project background and relevance

Our contemporary society experiences a demographic shift, characterised by starkly decreasing fertility and birth rates, an aging population and a constantly increasing need for healthcare workers. By 2070, about 21% more people over 50 will be in need of professionally provided long-term care compared to 2020. In contrast to this stands the continuously shrinking labour force, around 40% of the current medical staff is already close to retirement and needs to be replaced.

Accordingly, we need strategies and measures on regional and national level to attract and retain healthcare workers to the labour market. Especially the retention of workers becomes increasingly significant, as recent data confirms that the dropout rate among healthcare workers is particularly high due to long working hours, demanding tasks and incompatibility of the working field with familial obligations.

In fact, the latter comes as no surprise if we consider that women make up 78% of workers in health and social care, but only 1 out of 3 female healthcare workers occupy leadership positions in the sector. A further central issue that must be considered in this context is the central role of foreign-born workers for the healthcare segment, which represents one of the major employment sectors for qualified migrants.

Norway employs currently 44% foreign-trained healthcare workers. They provide not only for a significant base of formal qualifications but also the rather informal “insider knowledge” on migrant communities (language, traditions, religious beliefs), which becomes increasingly responsive in our highly diversified society.

Project objectives

The SCILLED project ties in to these premises with an interdisciplinary approach combining gender, migration and educational studies and aims to investigate how female migrant healthcare workers are valorised in three Scandinavian countries, that are considered at the vanguard when it comes to (professional) adult education and upskilling: Denmark, Norway and Sweden.

In particular the project is interested to investigate:
• how formal and informal qualfication of female migrant healthcare workers in institutions are recognised and valorised;
• what is done to train und upskill female migrant healthcare workers adequately to keep the work sector attractive for them and to facilitate a progressing in their career.

The SCILLED project has started in august 2025 and will have a duration of 2 years.

Methods

To elaborate these two main research concerns the project builds on a mixed-methods research approach.

•Quantitative data collection and analysis: we will send out a survey to approximately 1000 healthcare institutions (clinics, hospitals, specialized clinics) to inquire information on how (migrant) healthcare workers are hired, trained and upskilled.

•Qualitative data collection and analysis: approximately 50 female migrant healthcare workers will be asked about their personal experience and professional integration in the local labour market of the host country, with regard to the application and recruitment process (recognition and valorisation of qualifications) and the working and education context (training opportunities and engagement).

•Project findings will be published in scientific publications, at international conferences and in the SCILLED podcast series, that will be co-produced by research participants.

Potential thesis themes

•Healthcare systems in Denmark, Norway and Sweden
•Literacy, Numeracy and Problem-solving competences of adults in Scandinavia
•Professional training and upskilling in healthcare institutions:
-Assessment of training needs
-Development and design of training courses
-Implementation and promotion of professional trainings
-Employee engagement
•Labour market integration of female migrants in Scandinavia
-Recognition of skills and formal qualifications
-Career progress in the host country
-Acceptance, relationships and network in the local labour market of the host country
-Willingness and personally perceived opportunities to re-/upskill
•Strategies for attracting and retaining staff in the healthcare sector

Envisaged collaboration and possible tasks for students

•Desk research and comparative analysis of Scandinavian healthcare systems
•Assistance in the design and implementation of quantitative research instruments with more than 1000 healthcare institutions in Denmark, Norway and Sweden
•Assistance in analysis of survey results from healthcare institutions in Denmark, Norway and Sweden
•Assistance with qualitative data collection and analysis in semi-structured interviews and focus groups with female healthcare workers with migratory background

What we offer

•Master thesis supervision by experienced researcher in a pleasant and stimulating environment
•Skill development on the work cycle of applied research, in particular on:
-design, development and implementation of research instruments (assessment of research needs, pilot trial, field preparation and access)
-quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis (analytical framework development and testing)
•Joint publications, if feasible and in accordance with student competences and interests
•Active involvement in podcast production phase and possibility to co-host one episode of the podcast series (cfr. Methodological approach)
•Insights into European research project management

Contact

Tanja Schroot (tanja.schroot@oslomet.no) | NOVA – Norwegian Social Research, OsloMet

FURTHER PROJECT INFORMATION
https://www.oslomet.no/en/research/research-projects/migrant-lifelong-learning
https://www.linkedin.com/company/scilled-strategies-for-competence-integration-and-lifelong-learning-in-european-destinations/?viewAsMember=true