Meet Our Early Stage Researchers: Mina Saghafian from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology

Tell something about yourself?

My name is Mina Saghafian. I have a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from the University of Groningen, the Netherlands, followed by Master of Science degree in Organizational Psychology from Erasmus University of Rotterdam and Master of Science degree (cum laude) in Organizational Change Management and Consulting from Rotterdam School of Management, the Netherlands.

I have worked in a multinational oil and gas services company based in the Netherlands, with a great emphasis on promoting safety culture. As the project coordinator and administrative assistant at the human resources department, I have also organized and conducted HR related ERP trainings across 12 countries. Other work experiences include sales and customer services representative and staff trainer as well as marketing research assistant in Europe and North America.

Why did you apply to ImmerSAFE project?

I applied to this project because it is comprised of multi-disciplinary researchers and experts from across Europe, who have state of the art knowledge and expertise and have come together to enhance the quality of organizational operation in safety focused industries. It offers a great research and career development opportunities to all the ESRs. As for my specific topic, I will have the opportunity to work closely with those who develop the technologies and those who will implement and use it. Being able to see the full scope of the change process and being given the chance to investigate and conduct research on this topic, as it occurs, is an ideal way to get hands on knowledge about what issues need to be considered in developing an optimal change implementation plan for IVT and relevant technologies. Furthermore, this project requires a great amount of interaction with an international team, which is aligned with my personality and previous work experience.

What kind of expectations do you have for your research project and network training?

I expect the project to be a great learning opportunity, to become a capable researcher and a consultant with expertise that are transferrable across academia and the industrial world. I expect to develop a network of dedicated professionals across various fields of expertise that value collaboration to realize a common vision.

Mina Saghafian is based at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology and her research project “Organisational changes caused by Immersive visual technologies in safety-focused organisations” is linked to Work Package 3.