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News

• 2025-02-20

  Hanna Enefalk – New Representative for Karlstad University in Humtank

  Hello there, Hanna Enefalk, Associate Professor of History and the new representative for Karlstad University in Humtank. Tell us more!

  "Humtank is a think tank for research and education in the humanities, with representatives from fourteen Swedish universities and colleges. It has existed for over ten years and is funded by nearly all Swedish universities engaged in humanities research. Its purpose is to highlight the humanities and their perspectives. Both the general public and politicians sometimes forget that science is more than just men in white lab coats. Humtank plays an important role in reminding people that historians, literary scholars, cultural researchers, and other humanities academics also exist."

• 2025-02-18

  Leather substitutes made of fungal biomass can become your new handbag or steering wheel cover

  Imagine a handbag or a steering wheel upholstered in leather – but made of artificial leather made from fungi grown from food waste. In a new research project the goal is to develop just that in collaboration with industry.

  The project aims to meet societal challenges such as food waste and the production of natural leather that is ethically and environmentally questioned due to unsustainable production methods.

  There are already various alternatives to artificial leather. These often contain fossil-based plastics to meet the desired properties. The substitutes also often do not meet the desired quality characteristics and environmental requirements, which makes it interesting to work closely with industry in the project.

• 2025-02-10

  Minute of silence at 12.00 on Tuesday 11 February

  There will be a national minute of silence on Tuesday 11 February in honour of the victims of the tragedy in Örebro. Karlstad University will participate.

  The initiative of a national minute of silence was declared by the Swedish government, who also urge that flags be flown at half-mast from 09.00 until the moment of silence has ended.

  – 4 February will forever mark a dark day in Swedish history. To honour the victims who never came home to their loved ones, I want to invite everyone across our nation to gather in a minute of silence, says Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson in a press relase.

• 2025-02-07

  International collaboration project to promote digital health solutions in the North Sea region

  Karlstad University is one of the participants in DigiH4A (Digital Health for All), an EU-funded project that will address systemic healthcare challenges on an international scale. The objective is to accelerate the digital transformation of healthcare systems and provide citizens with better access to cutting-edge digital health solutions.

  Launched in October 2024 and funded by the European Union through the Interreg North Sea programme, the project gathers academic institutions, health authorities and innovation actors to drive the adoption of digital health solutions across the North Sea region.

• 2025-02-05

  International Project to Train Teachers and Teacher Educators in AI

  How should AI be used in schools? The SmartStart Teacher Academy project aims to establish an international teacher education program that trains teachers and student teachers to critically integrate AI-based tools into teaching. To address language barriers, an AI-based translation tool will be developed to facilitate professional exchange and support multilingual classrooms.

  The project is led by Professor Klaudia Schultheis at the Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt in southern Germany. Karlstad University will lead one of the eight work packages in the project together with NLA University College in Oslo. At Karlstad University, Kent Fredholm, Director of Studies for the doctoral program in educational work, is the Work Package Leader. A total of twelve universities and several primary schools in seven European countries are participating.

• 2025-02-05

  Megagame – simulating reality as a learning tool

  Megagames are a mix of role-playing games, board games and simulation. Karlstad University organised a megagame on the theme: Can Sweden reach sustainable consumption by 2045?

  Our society is based on economic growth. With growth comes increased consumption, higher energy costs and use of resources. Without growth, unemployment goes up. With technology comes greater efficiency, convenience and security. The downside of technology is that it is resource-intensive and leads to forced behaviours. How can society find a balance in all of this? It is a big task. The game board is even bigger. Not to say enormous.