Doctoral Student Madara Prata Explores how Technology Affects People's Motivation and Satisfaction in a Company
Since the beginning of the autumn semester last year, a doctoral student Madara Prata has been working at Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences (ViA), thus promoting the achievement of the goal of the project “Academic Staff and Human Resources Development at Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences” – to involve doctoral students in the academic work of the university and to promote the attraction of new academic staff in the long term.
Starting from the beginning of the autumn semester, the doctoral students involved in the project at Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences have begun to perform various academic duties at the university, for example, to teach various study courses, supervise master's and bachelor's theses, consult students in the thesis development process, participate in the Internship Report Defence Commission in the evaluation of reports, as well as to participate in the process of preparation of new study courses. Besides that, the doctoral students will participate in research, for example, by joining research afternoons, conducting research work in cooperation with students and foreign partners, developing research project applications, working on study content development, participating in international scientific conferences and preparing scientific publications.
The doctoral student Madara Prata points out that the opportunity to participate in the project and be part of the staff of Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences was the motivation to return to Latvia after several years spent studying and working abroad. Evaluating the opportunity provided, Madara Prata concluded: “Given that my goal is to build a long-term academic career, this project gives me huge opportunities to learn, develop and prepare for my future professional career. I have the possibility not only to do my own research, but also to be in a scientific environment where, with the help of my colleagues, my doctoral thesis gains more value and, in my opinion, much higher quality.”
Currently Madara Prata is a full-time doctoral student and she is developing her doctoral dissertation in the field of Information Technology. The topic of the work – “How technologies affect people's motivation and satisfaction in a company". "Currently, affected by the pandemics, many company managers communicate with their subordinates with the help of technology. When I started my research, there was a certain scepticism because the topic of the dissertation did not seem topical, but since the occurrence of the emergency situation, the dissertation has become significant,” Madara Prata commented on her dissertation.
Her participation in the project includes academic, administrative and scientific work. “As part of the project, I am writing several programme descriptions and will read two lecture courses during the next semester - “Organizational Governance” and “Digital Marketing”. I am currently elected as a lecturer and will work at Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences for the next six years,” said Madara Prata.