Funding and travel opportunities
Khoronzhevych was able to secure three years of joint funding as a public sector PhD through an arrangement with NAV and the Research Council of Norway because her project at OsloMet is relevant to the social work field in Norway.
She also extended her work well beyond Scandinavia.
"We have the opportunity to go abroad for exchange, and we can choose any country we want. I wanted to go to New Zealand, so I found a university there that had research very relevant to mine, which was person-centred research. I contacted them, and they were interested in hosting me," she recalls.
"I really enjoyed being a part of the team there, which helped me to learn a lot about their work. And I felt so welcomed, both as part of the research team and at after-work activities."
New and cool neighbourhoods in Oslo. Photo: Benjamin A. Ward / OsloMet
While the working day in New Zealand was longer than in Norway, Khoronzhevych took full advantage of her free time by going on road trips, relaxing with colleagues at the beach, and joining the local sailing club as a crew member who even helped her boat win several races.
The experience abroad was one of the major highlights of her PhD experience.
Now she has only a few months before the submission of her dissertation. The full scope of her programme did not go entirely according to plan, mostly due to the COVID-19 crisis. Still, she made the most of what was available and even crossed a few childhood dreams off her bucket list in the process.
