High jumper Melwin Lycke Holm, 21, grew up in Karlstad. From an early age he was strongly influenced by his father, the Olympic champion in high jump, Stefan Holm. As a multiple junior champion, both nationally and internationally, Melwin is now taking the final step into senior-level competition after this year’s outdoor season.
When paper dries and is subsequently rewetted, its properties change permanently. This phenomenon is known as hornification. New research now shows that the process is more complex than previously assumed, and that temperature, humidity, and fibre type all play decisive roles.
Hornification means that fibres in paper products lose some of their ability to absorb water.
How is gender equality work experienced in the workplace – as a shared exploratory journey or as a top‑down verdict? This is what Maja Herstad, doctoral student in sociology at Karlstad University, has investigated. The results show that emotions play a far greater role in this change process than many might assume.
“Emotions are central to gender equality work because they are linked to how we understand our position in a hierarchy and how we make sense of experiences.
The nomination period has now opened for finding the Alumnus of the Year 2026! Who do you think deserves recognition for daring to challenge the established and explore the unknown?
Creative and empowering physical education, social entrepreneurship that includes people on the autism spectrum, suicide prevention, and successful industrial leadership – our previous Alumnus of the Year recipients have truly come from completely different fields!
The Jan Wallander Prize is awarded on 26 March and goes to Elias Grimstad, who for the next nine years will have the opportunity to use a violin made in 1856 by Andrea Postacchini.
Violinist Elias Grimstad is a student at the Artist Diploma program, Ingesund School of Music, with Peter Herrestahl as his teacher.
– The kitchen staff are leading the way in listening, challenging, and developing meals in a more sustainable direction, and they’re doing it together with the students, who agree, says Helén Williams, researcher at the Service Research Center (CTF).
Reports on climate change and the resulting pressure on food production are becoming increasingly frequent. A transformation of food production and consumption is needed to handle the crises ahead.
I was recently invited to the subject meeting in Business Administration to speak about AI in teaching and assessment. Colleagues wanted to hear more about the discussions taking place at management level, at the Swedish Higher Education Authority, and within the Ministry of Education.
They were curious about the expectations industry has of newly graduated students.
Karlstad native and paragolfer Gustav Stigsson Andersson began playing golf when he was 13. In 2025, he won a European Championship silver medal in paragolf.
Sweden’s lakes are changing rapidly. Climate change is bringing milder winters and increased precipitation. The result? The water becomes both warmer and browner. As rain and meltwater flow through forests and land, organic material (humus) is carried into the lakes. It darkens the water and reduces light penetration.
For a long time, researchers have assumed that this would strongly affect predatory fish like pike.
How can universities support students in improving their well-being and managing everyday stress? This question will be addressed by a European project aimed at developing tools to enhance psychological resilience.
The project ELLIPSE Resilience Enhancement (ERE) is a collaboration between eight partners from seven European countries and will run from 2025 to 2027.
This year, the Service Research Center (CTF) at Karlstad University celebrates its 40th anniversary. The milestone will be marked throughout the year, including during the Customer Innovation Day and at a jubilee event in October.
CTF was founded in the mid-1980s. At that time, the service sector was growing rapidly, while knowledge about how service organisations are managed, developed and create value was limited.
Jennie Segerström is currently pursuing the Master's Programme in Critical Social Analysis in Sociology and works simultaneously as a teaching assistant in Risk and Environmental Studies and at the Centre for Societal Risk Research (CSR). Earlier this year, she was awarded a Minor Field Studies (MFS) scholarship to examine how climate resilience is created in coastal communities in southern Bangladesh.
Amie Gustafsson, PhD-student in Business Administration at Karlstad Business School and researcher at the Service Research Center (CTF), has been awarded the APA Doctoral Research Award by the American Phygital Association.
The prize is international and recognizes promising doctoral students who contribute to advancing the understanding of phygital science, a field focused on how the physical and digital worlds merge, and how this convergence affects both individua
From waste to fiber, new research on recycled cotton points the way toward more sustainable textile production.
– Climate change concerns everyone, yet it is often portrayed as a problem of the future, says Elise Meurs, a doctoral student in chemical engineering at the Exact Industrial Research School. Currently, the textile industry is one of the most polluting industries.
Teaching writing is an important responsibility for Swedish language teachers. A new dissertation examines how future Swedish teachers are prepared for this through mentoring conversations with their school‑based mentors during the School Placement, VFU.
Felicia Augustsson and Helen Brink, doctoral students in Educational Work at Karlstad University, are two of the three researchers who have received the distinction and research award “Article of the Year 2025” from the Nordic Mensa Fund.
The Nordic Mensa Fund is the result of a long-standing and close collaboration between the national Mensa associations of Sweden, Finland, Norway, and Denmark.
Most of you have surely noticed that the university management and five departments have now moved into the refurbished space on the fourth floor of Building 1B. We believe that the new flexible way of working will lead to a higher degree of utilisation, a continued good working environment, and lower costs.
The next piece of the puzzle will soon fall into place as the very reason for the refurbishment moves in.
The EU-funded project PIONEERS-6G – Platform and Device Innovations for Energy-Efficient, Resilient, and Secure 6G IoT Systems, coordinated by Karlstad University with partners from six countries, aims to develop the mobile networks of the future with a focus on Internet of Things (IoT) services and applications.
6G is the sixth generation of mobile networks and the next step in the evolution of wireless communication.
