About ME

Biography

Prof. Dr. Dr. Tony Gorschek is a Professor of Software Engineering at Blekinge Institute of Technology – where he works as a research leader and scientist in close collaboration with industrial partners.
Dr. Gorschek has over fifteen years of industrial experience as a CTO, senior executive consultant, and engineer, but also as chief architect and product manager. In addition, he is a serial entrepreneur – with five startups in fields ranging from logistics to internet-based services and database register optimization. In parallel to his research, he manages his own consultancy company, works as a CTO and serves on several boards in companies developing cutting edge technology and products.
Currently, Dr. Gorschek works as a research scientist and research leader in collaboration with over a dozen companies developing scalable, efficient and effective solutions in the areas of Requirements Engineering, Product Management, Value-based product development, Verification & Validation, and Real Agile™ and Lean product development and evolution.
Dr. Gorschek’s research group SERL-Sweden (Software Engineering Research Lab) at Blekinge Institute of Technology is ranked no. 6 in the world (no.1 in the EU) in empirical software engineering (JSS2018), and is the largest software engineering group in Sweden.

Believing is not knowing, and the second belief makes you impervious to new data you are per definition not pursuing the truth, rather an agenda.

Data and measurement is the premiere tool to avoid politics and belief.

Engineering Science, like software engineering, is the application and validation of methods, models, practices and tools in reality, and the subsequent measurement of usability and usefulness to ascertain efficiency and effectiveness.

Personal

The best thing about being an empirical software engineering researcher is…

… that I actually get to work with companies to figure out what challenges they face. Then I get to figure out possible solutions to these problems – and they are validated and gradually refined in real environments. In my view it is the best of two worlds. I get to work in the real world, but can work on solving problems that are at the core of enabling companies to be efficient, effective and successful, and I get paid to do so. We work with our company partners, and the measure of our success is evaluated in developing solutions that actually work and add value in everyday engineering of cutting edge products and services. As a software engineer you also cross domain boundaries, and one day you work with engineering a Mercedes, and the other with robotics or health care applications. It is all in a days work!

In addition, the work environment at Blekinge Institute of Technology and the Software Engineering Research Laboratory encourages you to excel, and improve yourself constantly – and there is no greater joy than working with people who are the best at what they do, but have the realization that life is about learning and evolving.

Being a Ph.D. Student

Talk to former PhD students

Being a PhD student is a significant undertaking. In Sweden a typical PhD spans 4years full time work and includes 18months courses on advanced level. The courses are selected to complement your profile and knowledge to be able to perform the research project in a good way. The research is done in close collaboration with your supervisor – but also often with companies.

Is it hard? Will you be successful? Will it require full commitment? Will it change my life? The answer to all of these questions is YES. However, it is also one of the mot satisfying experiences possible, where you get paid to learn how to investigate and solve problems, and actually work towards making a difference, changing how things are done, and if you are lucky, changing how people perceive the world.

With you on this journey is your supervisor, which is the most important part of a PhD research project next the PhD student. The role of the supervisor is to be a guide, but also to inspire, collaborate, support and protect. If you want to know how I am as a supervisor the best way is to talk to some of my former PhD students.