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News

• 2026-06-24

  FutureAct inspires young people to imagine and shape sustainable futures

  How can young people be encouraged to engage with climate adaptation and sustainability in ways that feel empowering rather than overwhelming? Researchers Caroline Bhowmik and Avit Bhowmik at Karlstad University have been exploring this question through FutureAct, a newly adapted educational game designed to strengthen agency, creativity, and hope among secondary school students.

  Designing the Future Under Climate Stress

  FutureAct builds on Framtidsbilder, a foresight game originally developed by the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI) to support dialogue about climate adaptation and sustainable futures. Researchers Caroline Bhowmik and Avit Bhowmik redesigned the game specifically for younger audiences, creating an interactive experience that combines futures thinking, creativity, and collaborative problem-solving.

• 2026-06-24

  Karlstad University in EU project on solar-based plastic recycling

  Karlstad University is participating in the new EU-funded project SPECTRA, coordinated by Ergang Wang at Chalmers University of Technology. SPECTRA aims to develop new technologies in which solar energy is used to convert plastic waste into valuable resources.

  Within the project, Karlstad University will develop computational and AI-assisted tools to accelerate the discovery and optimisation of materials and processes. Moyses Araujo, Professor of Physics, is leading Karlstad University’s part of the project.

• 2026-06-23

  Can a New Study Help Increase the Number of Engineers in Sweden?

  How can gifted students be both challenged and supported in developing their skills in technology studies? A new study at Karlstad University shows that the subject of technology has strong potential to meet gifted students’ needs through modeling using digital tools. This may, in the long run, help increase the number of future engineers—something that Swedish industry currently faces a shortage of.

  The study consists of three parts that highlight different aspects of the technology subject. The first focuses on how models and modeling are used, particularly with the help of digital tools such as CAD (computer-aided design). The second examines what gifted students need in order to thrive and develop in technology education. The third investigates what makes teaching more or less complex – that is, how challenging and development-oriented it is.

• 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.