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News

• 2025-02-04

  New professor with a focus on boys’ and men’s reading practices

  There is a preconceived notion that working-class boys and men in rural areas are less keen and less qualified readers than other groups. Through his research, Stig-Börje Asplund, newly appointed professor of educational work, paints a more nuanced picture.

  Stig-Börje Asplund’s research is interdisciplinary and his research interests include boys and men in rural areas and their relationship to reading. He completed his PhD in 2010 with a study on literature discussions among boys enrolled in the upper-secondary school programme in vehicle engineering. Since then, he has deepened his interest in the way boys and men who studied a vocational programme in upper-secondary school use reading in their lives.

• 2025-01-31

  Karlstad University part of new EU project on circular economy

  In collaboration with eleven partners from six countries, Karlstad University is participating in a new EU project that was recently granted funding as part of the programme Circular Bio-based Europe. The project, WoodVALOR, focuses on the transformation of contaminated wood into high-performance paints, coatings and biochar using sustainable methods.

  – This is an innovative bioeconomy project with partners from the UK, Ireland, Finland, France, Belgium and Sweden, says Ali Mohammadi, sub-project leader and associate professor in environmental and energy systems. By developing and optimising advanced purification and fractionation processes, we want to maximise resource efficiency by reusing 100 per cent of the wood.

• 2025-01-30

  How can social services create safer foster placements for children and young people?

  This is one of the questions that Anna-Lena Almqvist, Professor of Social Work at Karlstad University, is exploring. Her current research focuses on the participation of children and young people in foster placements and how safer relationships can be created in vulnerable life situations.

  Hello Anna-Lena! Can you tell us about your research? 

  "My main research areas are child welfare, men's work against violence, and LGBTQI-related issues. Currently, I am working on several projects. One of them examines how people within the LGBTQI community experience treatment from welfare actors, especially in healthcare, and the importance of relationships for this group."

• 2025-01-27

  System hosting – a way to manage complex challenges with many stakeholders

  Many important issues, such as climate change, social welfare issues and social and spatial planning, often fall through the cracks between different sectors and stakeholders. This can lead to a lack shared responsibility and important issues being left unresolved. What if there was a way to drive important issues forward and find solutions?

  Martin Fransson at Karlstads universitet Samhällsnytta AB and researcher at the Service Research Center is the author behind the report “Värdskap för ledning av ägarlösa tjänstesystem” (Hosting for the management of ownerless service systems), which addresses how to manage major issues that often fall between the responsibilities of different actors. The report is based on insights from the project “Systemdesign i samverkan” (System design in collaboration), financed by the Swedish Transport Administration.

• 2025-01-21

  Research project to encourage companies and customers to work together to create a more sustainable value chain

  Traditionally, the concept of “customer” refers to someone who buys something – but in a modern context, it includes all actors who create value together for each other. In the Interreg project Interregional Circularity in Central Scandinavia, researchers at Karlstad University want to broaden the perspective by also exploring circularity as collaborative value creation.

  In service research, services are perceived as relationships rather than just a matter of transactions. By understanding and meeting customer needs, companies can create value in a more resource-efficient way. However, this requires more interactive relationships with customers who are looking for more than just products.

• 2025-01-20

  Circular Bioeconomy is an Innovation Ecosystem

  At the BioEco Valley Summit, hosted by Karlstad University, Pro2BE, in collaboration with Paper Province, Region Värmland, and Sting BioEconomy, researchers and industry representatives gathered to discuss the future of the bioeconomy. The event focused on how stakeholders can jointly continue to drive the development of a circular bio-based economy and contribute to the green transition.

  – The circular bio-based economy needs to grow, and for that, we also need a workforce, said Magnus Lestelius, Professor of Graphic Technology at Karlstad University, who opened the conference. - By showcasing the diversity of careers within the forest industry, we can highlight the many opportunities available to students.