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• 2026-03-10

  New doctoral thesis shows how literature can reshape our understanding of the relationship between humans and our surroundings

  How are humans connected to the technology, nature and materials around us? In a new doctoral thesis, Jonas M. Hoeck shows how author Amalie Smith’s literature opens up new ways of understanding subjectivity, responsibility, and our relationship to the world around us.

  “My thesis examines the work of the Danish author Amalie Smith, with a particular focus on how her writing explores the relationship between human beings, the body, technology and the environment,” says Jonas M. Hoeck, PhD of Literary Studies. “I analyse how literary forms such as montage, hybrid genres and documentary elements are used to investigate what it means to be a subject in a time marked by technological and ecological change.”

• 2026-03-04

  Prestigious Award to Karlstad Business School and CTF

  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 individuals and organizations. According to the jury’s motivation, Amie Gustafsson receives the award for her rigorous research, innovative thinking, and for providing a significant scientific contribution to the field.

• 2026-03-03

  Recycled cotton fiber can replace wood in viscose production

  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.

• 2026-03-02

  Mentoring conversations during School Placement Are an Important Resource in Teacher Education

  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. The purpose is to understand what kind of knowledge that is created in these dialogues and how the participants themselves perceive the learning potential of the conversations.

  “We have long known that mentor conversations are important for teacher students’ professional development, but what actually happens in these conversations and how it affects learning about subject teaching is not as clear,” says Maria Mollstedt, Doctor of Educational Work at Karlstad University.

• 2026-02-27

  Researchers in Karlstad Awarded Prize by the Nordic Mensa Fund

  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. The foundation was established in 2020 as a joint project with the aim of fulfilling one of Mensa’s core missions: encouraging research on intelligence. The Nordic Mensa Fund supports scientific research related to medical, psychological, sociological, or educational aspects of intelligence and the human brain. Each year, the foundation awards research prizes and project grants within this field.

• 2026-02-26

  Words from senior management: Development work that tests new approaches

  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 Swedish Defence University will shortly begin using its part of the floor. While we do indeed have a directive from the board to reduce accommodation costs and make more efficient use of our spaces, it is of course genuinely exciting in many ways that the city’s two higher education institutions will now be co-located on our campus. I believe this will lead to new opportunities for collaboration between Karlstad University and the Swedish Defence University.