Welcome to Karlstad University

News

• 2025-01-07

  Professor with a focus on Selma

  On 1 November 2024, Karlstad University welcomed a new professor as Sofia Wijkmark was appointed professor of comparative literature.

  "It feels very exciting! I’m mostly looking forward to having more time for research," she says.

  "There are a number of projects that I would like to dedicate more time to, and now I finally have the opportunity to do so," says Sofia. "I hope to support other people’s research in various ways and contribute to further developing the research environment at the department."

• 2025-01-07

  Organisational development through personal experiences

  Over the next two years, a new research project at Karlstad University is going to develop concrete resources to increase user influence in mental health services.

  "It’s exciting to be part of making the knowledge we’ve gained through research concrete and useful for organisations and services across the country," says Katarina Grim, doctor in health sciences and docent/senior lecturer in social work at Karlstad University, who is leading the project.

  User audits allow users to have influence over mental health services. It means that people with personal experiences of mental health issues or harmful use and addiction review and assess services related to these issues, so the they can be improved from a user perspective. As part of the project “Accessible user influence in the field of mental health”, concrete methodological support material will now be created, clarifying forms of collaboration and working methods for user audits. 

• 2024-12-19

  Rocket science for real

  The sounding rocket SubOrbital Express-4 which was launched from the Esrange Space Center outside Kiruna contained an experiment module from Karlstad University. The module is about studying how the active layer of organic solar cells forms in microgravity.

  – In this project, we were able to conduct experiments in an unmanned rocket, says Jan van Stam, professor of physical chemistry at Karlstad University. It allowed us access to microgravity for several minutes instead of about half a minute, as in previous experiments in aeroplanes. We were able to perform more advanced experiments, which will hopefully give us clearer answers to questions about the structural formation, says Jan van Stam.

• 2024-12-18

  Researcher’s best tips for reducing food waste and saving money this Christmas

  Over Christmas and New Year, as well as during other big holidays, food takes centre stage and Swedish households tend to buy and prepare large quantities of food. Despite the fact that large sums are spent on food this time of year, a large part ends up being thrown away.

  "Reflect, plan and buy smart! This will help you reduce waste," says researcher Helén Williams at Karlstad University.

  Over-buying, buffets with food being left out for long periods and not stored properly, as well as the tradition of having many different dishes are some of the reasons why too much food ends up in the rubbish at Christmas. However, with simple measures, it is possible to reduce waste and save money.

• 2024-12-16

  Focus on the Swedish wood construction industry in new research

  – Companies that proactively organize for sustainability transitions in the construction industry require systemic business model innovation. Such, says Andrey Abadzhiev, new doctor in Business Administration.

  Andrey Abadzhiev, you have recently defended your dissertation in business administration titled Managing business model innovation for sustainability transitions: Towards a theory-based typology – tell us about leading business model innovation in the transition to more sustainable solutions as you present in your dissertation.

• 2024-12-13

  Ingesund Student Nominated for Prestigious Award

  Pianist Nikita Khnykin from Oslo is studying the Master programme in music at Ingesund School of Music with Professor Julia Mustonen-Dahlkvist as his main teacher. Recently, he has been nominated for the Equinor Morgendagens Helter award, a scholarship that the Norwegian energy company Equinor has awarded for several years.

  Throughout his career, Nikita Khnykin has performed as a soloist with, among others, the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, the Norwegian Radio Orchestra, and the Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra on live TV (NRK) and radio. Nikita has won several prizes in Norway and abroad, including 1st prize and all possible awards ("Talent of the Year", Audience Award, and EMCY Award) in Norway's national music competition for youth (UMM) and 1st prize in the "Young Soloists" competition in Stockholm and Malmö Piano Competition.