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News

• 2026-06-04

  New funding for cybersecurity graduate school

  Karlstad University has been awarded continued funding to further develop and expand the Swedish Graduate School for Cybersecurity (SIGS-CyberSec).

  The initiative is one of three industrial graduate schools receiving support from the Knowledge Foundation (KK Foundation). 

  – The new funding will enable the graduate school to recruit seven additional industrial doctoral students. The aim is to strengthen both research capacity and skills provision in cybersecurity for Swedish companies, a field where the demand for highly qualified expertise is growing rapidly, says Simone Fischer-Hübner, professor at Computer Science and Project Manager for SIGS-CyberSec.

• 2026-06-04

  AI, Disinformation and Crisis Preparedness in Focus at Customer Innovation Day 2026

  How does AI affect the way we work, how does disinformation spread – and how do we build resilient organizations? These were some of the questions at the center of Customer Innovation Day 2026 in Karlstad.

  Customer Innovation Day 2026 brought together researchers and professionals around the theme of tomorrow’s services. During the afternoon, a clear picture emerged: organizations of the future must combine technological curiosity with critical thinking and the ability to navigate an increasingly uncertain world.

• 2026-06-03

  The clash between humanity and technology evident in new research on services

  Do you feel abandoned when you’re expected to handle everything on your own in a store? You’re not alone. Amie Gustafsson, a newly minted PhD in Business Administration at Karlstad Business School and researcher at CTF, has studied the state we find ourselves in when technology fails and we are left with a rigid digital source code as our only companion.
  – Self-service strips away the human relationship, and without human touchpoints that can repair trust after a machine failure, customer loyalty to the brand becomes very short-lived.

  How do unmanned stores and self-service affect customers’ sense of service and trust?

• 2026-06-03

  Researcher wants to focus more on processes than results in football

  James Vaughan from New Zealand, a former elite futsal player and football coach, currently serves as academy director at Västerås SK. He is also an author and researcher, including as an affiliated researcher at the Swedish Sports Confederation’s Research Centre for Youth Sports at Karlstad University.

  James Vaughan earned his PhD from the University of Queensland in 2020 in Sports Coaching with the thesis “Creativity in football: Conceptual frameworks and cultural case studies to inform coaching praxis.” The work focuses on understanding how creativity emerges and develops in players and teams. He argues that creativity in sport is not only an individual trait but something that develops through the interaction between players, teams, environments, cultures, and training. In short, context is everything.

• 2026-06-03

  The Bachelor of Science in Social Work demonstrates high quality

  The Bachelor of Science in Social Work at Karlstad University demonstrates high quality. This is confirmed by the Swedish Higher Education Authority’s (UKÄ) national evaluation of all 19 programmes in Sweden leading to a degree in social work.

  According to the assessment panel, the programme is well designed and based on a sound scientific and professional foundation. It also shows clear progression throughout the programme.

  – It is very encouraging that UKÄ has found that our work with the programme and the education of future social workers is of high quality, says Programme Coordinator Jenny Höglund, senior lecturer in social work.

• 2026-06-02

  Efficient and sustainable organic solar cells

  Organic solar cells are highlighted as a promising future technology. They are flexible, lightweight and can be manufactured at low cost in large volumes. In recent years, their efficiency has surpassed 20 per cent. However, despite this progress, a crucial challenge remains: lifetime.

  In a new doctoral thesis at Karlstad University, Suraj Prasad shows why the materials degrade and how the problem can be addressed.

  “We already have high efficiency. The main challenge now is to make the solar cells last,” says Suraj Prasad.

  Light and oxygen trigger degradation

  In the study, organic solar cell materials were exposed to simulated sunlight in air. The results show that degradation is driven by chemical reactions in which oxygen plays a central role.