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• 2026-06-18

  Meet Elite Student Athletes During SM Week

  It’s time for SM Week to take over Karlstad. The event is a public celebration featuring world-class sports, experiences, and opportunities to connect. This year, not least with the Elite Sports University at Karlstad University. Come and meet several of our students, world-class elite athletes on Västra Torggatan!

  For many years, Karlstad University has been an elite sports-friendly university, meaning it welcomes top-level athletes competing at national team level who can pursue their studies alongside their athletic careers.

• 2026-06-17

  Bioeconomy and innovation

  On 16–17 June, researchers, companies and clusters gathered for the BioEco Valley Summit 2026. This year’s theme, lignin, fibres and optimised circular processes, highlighted how the bioeconomy can contribute to the green transition.

  The conference was opened by County Governor George Andrén, who emphasised the strong position of Värmland within the forest-based bioeconomy and underlined the importance of collaboration between academia, industry and the public sector in addressing challenges such as climate change.

• 2026-06-16

  From #MeToo to TikTok – how feminist activism takes shape on social media

  Hashtags, algorithms and platform features influence how feminism is expressed and circulated on social media. This is shown in Lisa Lindqvist’s thesis, in which she has studied movements such as #MeToo, #Kvinnostrejk and #WomenInMaleFields on Twitter/X, Instagram and TikTok.

  – I have examined how the features and infrastructures of social media platforms shape feminist activism and what new forms of resistance emerge in these spaces, says Lisa Lindqvist, who has recently been awarded a doctoral degree in sociology.

• 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.