Creating space for thinking and balance as a DSII doctoral researcher

Amirhossein Zabihi’s doctoral journey shows how successful collaboration between research and industry can go hand in hand with a balanced schedule that enhances wellbeing.

Photo: Miika Hakala

Zabihi’s research is about studying how vibrations make metal surfaces that are joined together move slightly against each other causing damage over time. This process is called fretting. The movements are too small to see with the naked eye but eventually lead to cracks and parts breaking. Zabihi has done lab simulations of this process and the data that is collected and analyzed in Zabihi’s research gives the company information they need for designing engines that last well.

Zabihi has done his doctoral research in collaboration with Tampere University and Wärtsilä. Wärtsilä is a global leader in innovative technologies and services shaping the decarbonisation of marine and energy.

Partnering with Wärtsilä has given Zabihi valuable industry knowledge and Wärtsilä has gained important research results from the collaboration. Zabihi has had regular meetings with them to discuss his research work.

Balancing is the key to success

During his time as a doctoral researcher, Zabihi has been able to find balance between his work, study, and free time. He appreciates how Finnish working culture allows this balance – which in turn creates more wellbeing.

It took some time for Zabihi to get used to the independent ways of work-life here in Finland. He was more accustomed to more detailed instructions as opposed to learning by experience.

“After all this time, now I know how to handle the independence in working alone.”, Zabihi assures.

Zabihi’s supervisor from Tampere University taught him the importance of always setting aside some hours for thinking when creating a schedule. Zabihi got this advice during his first year as a doctoral researcher and still follows it faithfully:

“Now I always allocate time for thinking!”.

After his graduation Zabihi continues to do research collaboration with Wärtsilä as a postdoctoral researcher at Tampere University. 

DSII 

“The most important thing is that we visit the industry.”

Zabihi appreciates that DSII has made it possible to visit industry destinations to see real applications for science. He has also been able to create valuable professional networks during these visits. These are also reasons why he would recommend DSII for others who are considering doctoral studies.