Welcome to Karlstad University

News

• 2025-11-17

  New Professor in Special Education Passionate About Co-Teaching

  Vulnerable children who may never have had a real chance—especially in school—are a heartfelt concern for Christel Sundqvist, newly appointed Professor of Special Education at Karlstad University. Her guiding principle is to help them early so that problems do not arise later in their schooling, leading to marginalization and exclusion.

  Originally from Vaasa, Finland, Christel Sundqvist first studied social sciences, social policy, and sociology, earning a Master of Political Science degree at Åbo Akademi University. After graduation, she worked as a counselor and supervisor in care services for people with intellectual disabilities. She also worked as a social worker in child protection.

• 2025-11-14

  Ellen Moons elected new Secretary General of the Royal Swedish Academy

  Ellen Moons, Professor of Physics at Karlstad University, has been elected new Secretary General of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. She will succeed Professor Hans Ellegren at the beginning of 2026.

  – I am very happy for the trust I receive from the members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences (KVA) and I look forward to the new role. Of course, it means that I will be spending much more time in Stockholm, but I will continue living in Värmland and keep some of my duties at Karlstad University part-time, says Ellen Moons. 

  Ellen Moons research focuses on novel materials for photovoltaic applications, including organic and polymer-based solar cells, as well as solution-processed perovskite solar cells.

• 2025-11-14

  Innovative Study to Encourage Children to Be More Physically Active

  How can we get sedentary children to move more? A new research study aims to find out in collaboration with children in grades 2 and 3 in primary school. The idea is to identify alternative activities to traditional sports that can be practiced after school. Karlstad University is conducting the study together with several other universities and in cooperation with Karlstad Municipality.

  Physical inactivity is a growing public health problem that brings escalating societal costs. One area that is currently neglected is physical activities for children who do not want to participate in sports during their leisure time. What alternative activities to sports exist after school for children who are not very physically active? There are plenty of studies where children themselves highlight the need for alternatives to the current offerings, which largely consist of traditional competitive sports.

• 2025-11-13

  Siri Jakobsson Störe receives national research award for groundbreaking sleep research

  Siri Jakobsson Störe has been awarded the Swedish National Committee for Psychological Sciences’ prize for outstanding young researcher in psychology 2025. She receives the award for her research on insomnia and how sleep difficulties can be understood and treated.

  – I’m very honoured, says Siri Jakobsson Störe, senior lecturer in psychology at Karlstad University. Being recognised in national competition, and in a context where universities nominate their most promising researchers, means a lot both personally and professionally. I’m also pleased to be representing Karlstad University in this forum for the first time.

• 2025-11-12

  New research project to increase knowledge about mental illness among transnational adoptees

  Forte awards funding to research on mental illness among transnational adoptees. A new project aims to provide answers and improve support from healthcare services.

  – The project is the first of its kind and aims to strengthen research and improve suicide prevention efforts within the healthcare sector, says Tobias Hübinette, docent in intercultural education and senior lecturer in intercultural studies at Karlstad University, who leads the project.

  The research group also includes Mattias Strand at Karolinska institutet and Clara Iversen at Uppsala University.

• 2025-11-12

  New research project to explore the invisible roots of literature in Nairobi

  In a new project, researcher Nicklas Hållén will map the invisible paths of literature in Nairobi.

  The project examines how literary expressions are shaped by people’s movements between different cultural forms – for example, from oral poetry, theater and music to literary publishing. The focus is on how “invisible” cultural practices, such as slam poetry in Nairobi’s less affluent areas, influence the “visible” literature that reaches magazines, bookstores and stages. The aim is to understand how style and form spread between different parts of the city and different cultural contexts.