The RUC Cleaners Project: an innovative approach to student-led research projects

How can we reconcile critical research into labour conditions in Global Studies when we don’t know anything about the workers on our own campus? This question led to the RUC Cleaners Project which commenced in the first half of 2017 as a voluntary research project at the Department of Social Sciences and Business within Roskilde University (RUC). Since their work is mostly carried out when the campus is quiet and neither students nor staff have been scientifically engaged with this topic yet, the idea was to critically assess different dimensions and aspects related to the cleaners. In light of changes in employment for cleaning staff at RUC, the initial team of researchers got together and created a first re-search design, placing the cleaning staff in the centre of its research. With a publication of findings at RUC, the group hopes to increase visibility and appreciation of cleaning staff and their work. The project is set up as voluntary, non-hierarchical research and is currently running for the third semester with changing international and Danish student re-searchers of diverse academic backgrounds. We see great potential in incorporating such long-term projects in a curriculum for both researchers and students alike.