Jasper, what does it mean to you to be appointed associate professor (docent) in Information Systems?
– For me, it is a fun and welcome sign that I’m starting to find my footing in information systems and in the Swedish academic system. At the Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering at TU Delft in the Netherlands, I conducted research as a design researcher on information systems, such as digital travel cards and digital public services, but here in Karlstad I have transitioned into the field of Information Systems.
– I hope to contribute with my knowledge of design and human‑centred approaches. Especially when it comes to digitalisation, there is a lot to gain – we are increasingly encountering drawbacks and limitations connected to it. And digitalisation is an excellent bridge between the Service Research Center (CTF) and Information Systems, the two parts of Karlstad University to which I am affiliated. These days, there is no service without a digital component, and at the same time most people experience digital systems as services.
Tell us about your ongoing research
– Right now, I am working on a project that focuses mainly on services, sustainability, and collaboration between organisations. Together with my colleague Klas Hedvall from CTF, I am participating in a study on business models for circular trucks. In collaboration with, among others, Volvo, RISE and IVL (the Swedish Environmental Research Institute), we are investigating how truck lifespans can be extended and made more circular, which in the end should be better from a sustainability perspective. We are responsible for mapping the customer perspective, so we talk a lot with transport companies, workshops, financiers and leasing companies in Poland, the Netherlands, and Sweden.
– I have worked with mobility before—among other things, with research on combined air‑rail travel systems—but I had never done a project within the transport sector itself. That’s what I enjoy so much about being a researcher: you get to dive deep into so many fascinating environments.
2026 – what’s ahead for you?
– I am currently working on several research proposals, including one together with an interdisciplinary team at Karlstad University. It’s truly fantastic that we are a comprehensive university, which makes it possible to collaborate with people from very different disciplines—from mechanical engineering to political science. Another project is an application for an EU Horizon project together with several other universities, including Delft. It concerns shared mobility, and so far the idea and the team have given me tons of energy.
– In addition, just before the summer I will travel to a major Information Systems conference in Milan to present a paper. And of course, there is teaching—right now I am supervising bachelor theses, I have just finished contributing to a course on business development, and I’m gearing up to act as ‘product owner’ in a course on system integration. There’s a lot going on, and it gives me a huge amount of energy. My promotion to associate professor just adds even more to that.
