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News

• 2026-06-11

  Teaching About Controversial Social Issues Is Essential

  This autumn, Sweden will hold elections, and it is time for the country’s citizens to take part in one of the privileges of living in a democracy. This is especially true for young people who may have the opportunity to vote for the first time. However, leading discussions in a classroom within the subject of social studies can be challenging in a turbulent political climate marked by increasing polarization. A new study examines how student teachers can be prepared to teach controversial social issues and what opportunities and challenges arise when they plan and carry out such teaching during their school placements (VFU) at upper secondary level.

  Previous research shows that teachers often avoid teaching controversial social issues due to uncertainty about how to conduct such lessons and concern about emotionally charged classroom situations. In this dissertation, written by Victoria Williamsson, a subject-didactic planning model is developed to support work with contested, emotionally charged, and political issues.

• 2026-06-11

  New thesis on how AI can make apps more user-friendly

  How can apps and digital health services become easier to use for older adults and people with motor impairments? In his doctoral thesis, Bilal Maqbool in Computer Science has developed an AI-based method that can imitate user interactions and has investigated why usability testing is often a challenge.

  ”To create user-friendly systems, developers need to test their products with real users. This can be difficult, especially when the target group includes people with conditions such as Parkinson’s disease, reduced motor function, or other health challenges. Recruiting participants, obtaining ethical approvals, and conducting repeated tests require both time and resources”, he says.

  AI that learns from people

• 2026-06-10

  Curling Pair Receives Karlstad Grand Prix 2026

  There is a great deal of heart and soul involved in being a sports leader in a sport you are passionate about. The love of curling has united this year’s recipients of the Karlstad Grand Prix 2026 in more ways than one. The award goes to the married couple Alison Kreviazuk and Fredrik Lindberg, Karlstad Curling Club and the Swedish Curling Federation, for their contributions to Swedish curling.

  Fredrik Lindberg grew up in Hede and moved to Karlstad to play with Team Niklas Edin, where he won, among other achievements, European Championship gold, World Championship gold, and Olympic bronze. After his playing career, Fredrik remained in Karlstad and now works as a sports director and national team coach. During the past season, he has achieved major success with two European Championship gold medals, one World Championship bronze, one World Championship gold, and, not least, Olympic gold with Team Hasselborg.

• 2026-06-09

  Ghosts, poetry and the struggle for justice in new research

  What can ghosts tell us about justice, history and the future? This is what Judith Tesfaye Kiros, PhD in English, has explored in her thesis Ghosts of the Black Atlantic: Hauntology and the Temporality of Justice in Black British Poetry.

  Judith Tesfaye Kiros has analysed the work of four black British poets in relation to haunting as both a theme and an ethical concept. Drawing on the philosopher Jacques Derrida’s concept of hauntology – the idea that what is no longer present, or not yet present, nevertheless shapes the present – as well as the relationship between time and ethics, she examines how the ghost functions both as a motif and as a conceptual figure in poetry.

  ”One could say that hauntology is about how what is present is always permeated by what is absent,” says Judith Tesfaye Kiros.

• 2026-06-09

  Karlstad University part of Electrified Flexible Industry

  Three units at Karlstad University – Electrical Engineering, DAMI and Computer Science – are part of the large-scale project Electrified Flexible Industry. The aim of the project is to develop solutions for a more flexible, resilient, digital and resource-efficient energy system.

  Karlstad University’s role in the project is to develop AI-based solutions to enable companies to anticipate energy demand, prices and flexibility opportunities. This, in turn, will help companies reduce costs while contributing to a more sustainable energy system.

  “We will combine AI with energy data to enable smarter decision-making around energy utilization,” says Andreas Theocharis, Associate Professor in Electrical Engineering and project leader for Karlstad University’s contribution to Electrified Flexible Industry.

• 2026-06-05

  Entrances have revised opening hours during the summer

  From Monday 8 June to Saturday 29 August, the university operates summer opening hours. The entrances will generally be locked. Staff and students can enter using a card and code. Kau City will be closed for the summer from Monday 8 June.

  The main entrances in building 1E will follow the opening hours of the University Library (see link below) and will be open 08:00–16:00 until Midsummer, 09:00–12:00 for the following two weeks, and then completely closed during weeks 28–31.

  Opening hours for the other entrances will be reduced from 8 June and will be fully closed from 22 June.

  Staff have access to the premises 24 hours a day using an access card and code. Students can enter using a card and code between 06:00 and 24:00.