Welcome to Karlstad University

News

• 2025-11-20

  Competing Is Part of Being a Musician

  Pianist Sebastian Iivonen is enrolled in the Artistic Master’s Program for Musicians at Ingesund School of Music. He has just completed a semifinal in the Solistpriset, Sweden’s foremost soloist competition and the Royal Swedish Academy of Music’s largest award for young musicians, presented every two years.

  “I’m so satisfied and happy to have participated. I did my best and was well prepared, so I’m pleased with my performance. I was able to enjoy it and played from the heart.”

  What is it like to compete in such a major competition?

• 2025-11-20

  Intergenerational encounters at folk high schools – research on learning across age boundaries

  What happens in the encounter between different age groups? How do these encounters affect learning and social relations? These are questions that a new research project is focusing on in relation to Swedish folk high schools.

  – Folk high schools have an unusually wide age span compared to many other educational institutions and provide an important yet often overlooked arena for intergenerational encounters, says Satu Heikkinen, Associate Professor of Sociology at Karlstad University.

  In today’s society, age groups are often separated outside the family, a pattern that, according to previous research, contributes to ageism and stereotypical notions of younger and older people.

• 2025-11-19

  Can a photovoltaic system for a typical single-family house be profitable?

  The answer to that question is yes. In a recently completed project, the economic benefit of a photovoltaic system has been studied, based on real data from a Swedish villa.

  – The study shows that the photovoltaic system can generate economic profit, even without investing in a battery for energy storage, says Markus Rinio, Professor of Renewable Energy – Photovoltaics.

• 2025-11-18

  Let’s not aim for another failed decade – warns Climate Scientist

  As COP30 negotiations are at a full pace in Belém, a new analysis of the past decade of climate action paints a picture of critical failure. Climate researcher Avit Bhowmik from Karlstad University warns if this trend continues we will end up in an unmanageable overshoot risking the mere resilience of human civilization.

  The Earth League, an alliance of leading climate scientists like Johan Rockström and John Schellnhuber, has just published an analysis of the climate action space since the Paris Agreement was adopted in 2015. The results show that the past decade of climate action critically failed to safegauard our climate and planet to the extent that we now risk an unmanageable overshoot. Centre for Societal Risk researcher Avit Bhowmik contributed to this analysis which has been published in the journal One Earth.   

  Escalating Global Risks and Societal Impacts

• 2025-11-18

  Eucalyptus Fibers in Greaseproof Paper Save Energy

  In a study conducted in collaboration with Nordic Paper, it was found that the addition of eucalyptus fibers saved energy during production and also contributed to improved pulp and paper properties.

  – My latest work has focused on improving the energy efficiency of the refining process for greaseproof paper pulp at Nordic Paper by adding eucalyptus fibers to the pulp mixture, which otherwise consists of long-fiber pulp or softwood pulp, says Björn Öman, industrial PhD student at the Exact industrial research school.

• 2025-11-17

  Student Nominated for Male Athlete of the Year at the 2026 Swedish Sports Gala

  Hello there, Dalian Dawody, World Champion in the 71 kg class in Muay Thai and student in the Business and Economics program at the Elite Sports University, Karlstad University...

  ...You’ve been nominated for Male Athlete of the Year at the 2026 Swedish Sports Gala – congratulations!
  The traditional question can’t be avoided: How does it feel to receive such recognition?

  "It’s a mix of emotions. I feel very happy and at the same time relieved to receive recognition and attention for the work I’ve put in. And I’m in very prominent company with Armand Duplantis, Truls Möregårdh, and Andreas Almgren – that’s amazing!"

  You’ve known about this for a week – what went through your mind when you got the news?