An Academic Career across Three Continents
Marta Gonzalez-Aregall is a post doctor in industrial and financial management and logistics, focusing on maritime transport and logistics. Pursuing an academic career has taken her from Barcelona to Lund, Vancouver and Santiago de Chile. Now she conducts research at the University of Gothenburg.
“Gothenburg was always on the map!”
After first studying economics in her hometown Barcelona Marta Gonzalez-Aregall spent some time in Lund as an exchange student. There she decided that she wanted to work in academia. Upon realizing that she needed a PhD in order to become a researcher she returned to Barcelona and worked as a research assistant while she got her bachelor’s degree. During this time her interest in maritime economics and logistics was piqued.
“My supervisor told me that the data is difficult to get access to, and that the interest in ports and maritime logistics generally is low. Most people probably know how to buy an airline ticket, but hardly anybody knows how container shipping works. But I wanted to know more about it, and I was sure that I would get access to the data I needed, so I decided to do my PhD on this topic,” she explains.
My research area is very specific, and some of the best researchers within this field work here in Gothenburg
After finishing her PhD Marta Gonzalez-Aregall spent some time as a guest researcher in Vancouver and did an internship at the UN in Santiago de Chile. Realizing she missed working at a university she applied for, and got, a position as a post doctor in Gothenburg, a city she’d had her eyes on since she discovered her interest in maritime transport and logistics.
“My research area is very specific, and some of the best researchers within this field work here in Gothenburg.”
First arriving in Gothenburg in April 2017 and being used to much larger, and warmer, cities, the change in environment took some time getting used to. Even though Marta Gonzalez-Aregall is still not a huge fan of the weather in Gothenburg she has become very fond of living in the city, and found acclimatizing was easy with help from the university’s Welcome Services.
“I was so happy when I arrived as they picked me up at the airport and facilitated everything and it worked out really well.”
During her time in Gothenburg Marta Gonzalez-Aregall has been living in Åby in Mölndal, in an apartment provided to her by the university’s guest housing service.
“I was the first person to live in the apartment since it was newly-built, and there weren’t that many people around. Now the area is growing and as I’ve gotten to know a lot of my neighbors I really like living there.”
My co-workers have become like a family to me
Marta Gonzalez-Aregall has also made good friends amongst her colleagues, and she enjoys the work atmosphere at the University of Gothenburg.
“There’s a great ambience at the workplace and my co-workers have become like a family to me. They invite me home during the weekends and we do lots of things together.”
Welcome Services at the university regularly arranges events for international researchers, and other international staff, and Marta Gonzalez-Aregall is a frequent guest.
“I try to participate as often as possible. I really enjoyed the city tour my first year here because realized that the city is bigger than I first thought. I also like the dinners, you always meet nice people there!”
Originally published 11 April 2019