In 2023, at the beginning of my PhD journey, I undertook a research visit to the Stockholm Resilience Centre (SRC), Stockholm University, Sweden, with the aim of fostering academic collaboration, expanding my research network and deepening my understanding of contemporary sustainability issues and challenges.
The visit provided an opportunity to engage with an interdisciplinary research environment and learn from ongoing discussions and research on sustainability, resilience and social–ecological systems. These exchanges broadened my perspectives on the complex relationships between people, ecosystems and sustainability challenges, while exposing me to different approaches to understanding and addressing environmental change.
The visit was particularly valuable at this early stage of my doctoral research, as I was developing and finalizing my PhD research proposal on Indigenous and local knowledge and the desirable futures of mangrove ecosystem sustainability in the Mono Transboundary Biosphere Reserve, West Africa. The experience helped inform my thinking, strengthen my academic connections, and provide a broader foundation for positioning my research within wider sustainability debates.
Overall, the research visit was a valuable step in my doctoral journey, contributing to my academic development and reinforcing the importance of interdisciplinary exchange and international collaboration in advancing sustainability research.