News archive

The late-summer sun shone down on Stockholm as Karolinska Institutet took part in this year’s Pride parade on 1 August. Together with KI President Annika Östman Wernerson, students, staff and alumni, the parade once again filled the streets with colour and enthusiasm during what was perhaps the most inclusive celebration of the year. The tragedy in Berlin cast a sombre shadow over the parade, serving as a reminder of why the event is so important.

The first phase of the external evaluation of research at Karolinska Institutet has now been completed. The review is conducted by an international expert panel, which highlights the need for a clearer strategic framework, stronger internal communication, and further development of leadership and career pathways.

Increased collaboration between different parts of the university, clearer career pathways and a more active dialogue with KI’s management. These are some of the priority needs highlighted by the reviewed departments during KIRA’s first quality seminar.

From 1 July, new leaders and faculty representatives will take up their posts on the Faculty Board and its committees. This is part of a series of organisational changes aimed at clarifying responsibilities and fostering greater engagement in the university’s collegial governance. One such change is that Martin Bergö will take up the post of chair of the Faculty Board.

Karolinska Institutet (KI) is launching a strategic initiative in medical preparedness aimed at strengthening Sweden’s ability to prevent and manage the health-related consequences of crises and war.

The KI Faculty Board and I have now decided on the first allocation of KI’s research grants for 2027, which is to say the basic and performance-based aspects. I would like to stress that it’s highly likely that additional funds will be allocated to the basic and/or performance based parts of the model at a later date. 

A decision on an initial allocation of the 2027 research grant has now been made by the President and the Faculty Board. This is the first time the allocation for the coming year takes place as early as June and within the framework of the new resource allocation model in its entirety. This provides better conditions for planning the 2027 activities within each campus group and department.

Karolinska Institutet is the host organisation for nine applications – and KI researchers are involved in several other additional ones – in the Swedish Research Council’s and Vinnova’s call for excellence clusters for groundbreaking technologies. These clusters of excellence will combine research of the highest scientific quality with the best and most extensive innovation capabilities. Among the KI applications is a cluster for RNA-based drugs.

How can the results from KIRA 2025–2026 contribute to the continued development of research at Karolinska Institutet? This is one of the key questions when departments and university leadership come together for the annual KIRA seminar on 17 June.

The meeting featured presentations on KI’s work with fundraising and donations; a new search service for research information at KI; a summary of the work with KI’s prioritised focus areas. In addition, current issues within KI were discussed.

KI’s resource allocation model for research funding continues to evolve. The President has issued guidelines to support the work on prioritisation, allocation and monitoring within the campus groups. The first announcements regarding the 2027 allocation are expected shortly.

Three people are to receive Karolinska Institutet’s Grand Silver Medal, and a further two KI’s Silver Medal. These two classes of medal are awarded to people who have made tremendous or excellent efforts, respectively, in support of KI’s activities during their careers, and will be presented at this October’s installation ceremony.

Sven Alfonsson and Agnes Elmberger are the first two to receive the KIPRIME Research Grant. The call for applications was announced in the autumn and involves a three-year research grant. Around twenty applications were received and reviewed by an international panel of researchers.

A university is both a place of study and a workplace where students and staff can thrive and develop. At the heart of a university is the idea that it is a place for curiosity, creativity and a strong spirit of collaboration. The staff survey recently conducted shows overall positive results, and in some areas even very positive ones.

It has now been decided who will take up their posts as new Faculty Representatives of the Faculty Board, the Committee for Higher Education, the Committee for Doctoral Education and the Committee for Research on 1 July 2026. This concludes the academic elections at KI for this round.

In this volatile world we live in, KI needs to both protect our openness and strengthen our ability to take prudent, responsible decisions. This applies not least to our international collaborations – a linchpin of our identity and success, now and in the future.

The financial summary for 2025 was submitted to the government on 20 February 2026.

Spring is just around the corner, and with it comes important steps in KI’s continuing development. I have now made my decision on KI’s new deans and deputy deans, who will be assuming office on 1 July this year, replacing today’s academic vice presidents.

The President has now decided who will become KI’s new deans and deputy deans for higher education, doctoral education and research from 1 July 2026 to 31 December 2029, when their term of office expires.

During the autumn, Karolinska Institutet participated in the Swedish Research Council’s call for new Strategic Research Areas (SFOs). This has been an extensive and engaging process, with broad mobilisation across KI. In total, we submitted eight applications, two of which had KI as the lead applicant. The applications span five of the eight strategic research areas defined in this year’s call and reflect both our scientific breadth and our long-term priorities.

On 19 February, Karolinska Institutet held a ceremony in the Nobel Forum for the recipients of the Diligence and Integrity in the Service of the Realm (NOR) award. The warm and festive evening of speeches, music and dining was dedicated to colleagues who have devoted 30 years of their working lives to KI’s development and to Swedish public administration.

The hearings with the candidates for the positions of Dean in the areas of Higher Education, Doctoral Education and Research in the direct election to advise the president, are now over and the voting has concluded. The voter turnout was high, with 57,8 per cent of KI taking the time to cast a vote for their chosen electable candidates.

Nominations are now open for positions as faculty members on the Faculty Board and committees for Higher Education; Doctoral Education; and Research. By nominating a colleague or teacher, you contribute to strong, representative and committed academic leadership for KI's education and research.

The first staff meeting for Professional Services (GVS), which now includes the KIB University Library, took place in Aula Medica. The agenda included current issues at KI, a status report from the GVS management team and an in-depth look at the Karolinska ATMP Centre with its director, Knut Steffensen.

You can now watch the recordings from the hearings on 4 February, where the candidates for the positions of dean for higher education, doctoral education and research presented their ideas for leading KI forward. If you are eligible to vote, use your opportunity to influence and vote by 11 February.

We are coming to the end of the first month of the new year, and we have just begun a new term with a welcome day for our new students and a toast to our new graduates. It is always a joy to join in the celebrations of those taking their next step in life!

Who will lead KI's education and research in the coming years? The candidates are presented and the election process is underway. Through hearings and voting, you as an employee can have a say.

Since 2014, the advisory board for culture at Karolinska Institutet has served as an advisory body to the university president. The members of the advisory board have managed, developed and brought to life the place of culture at KI – highlighting what unites science with artistic expressions such as art, music, dance and literature.

Several decisions are now coming into force that aim to create clearer responsibilities and a more cohesive organisation at KI. Among the changes are new bodies and functions, and certain activities being relocated within KI. KI's organisational plan and the President's decision-making and delegation rules have been revised. Further revisions will also be made in 2026.

After the Nobel week and the celebration of research that has been of greatest benefit to humankind, I feel nothing but immense gratitude and admiration for this year’s laureates. Particularly momentous was, of course, having the honour to present and listen to the Medicine laurates’ lectures in Aula Medica on 7 December, when Mary Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell and Shimon Sakaguchi talked about their discoveries on how the immune system keeps itself in balance.

The University Library (KIB) has been asked by the president to lead the process and develop a unified cultural program at KI. The decision follows a review of cultural activities during the fall of 2024 and spring of 2025, in which the report confirms the importance of culture for KI as a whole, highlights the need for a clearer organizational home, and emphasizes the importance of increased student engagement in cultural activities.

This coming new year, Karolinska Institutet University Library (KIB) will become part of Professional Services (GVS) at KI, creating more opportunities for closer cooperation and broader skills exchanges.

In the United States, universities and independent research are under attack by the country’s president. “A similar trend is unfolding in several countries and could eventually affect Sweden too,” says Karolinska Institutet’s President.

Don’t miss the chance to nominate qualified candidates and help shape KI’s future. Here, Vice President Martin Bergö explains why your contribution matters.

Minister for Upper Secondary School, Higher Education and Research Lotta Edholm visited KI on 12 November. While being escorted around the Biomedicum research building, speaking with researchers in multiple sclerosis and finding out more about precision medicine, she asked questions concerning animal experimentation and KI raised the issue of Ahmadreza Djalali, the KI researcher still incarcerated in Iran.

Karolinska Institutet is making a long-term investment in research in medical education. A call for new research funding is part of the investment, which is being made in collaboration with the Gunnar Höglund and Anna-Stina Malmborg Foundation.

From now until 7 December, you have the chance to help shape the future of academic governance at Karolinska Institutet. As a member of staff or a student, you can nominate candidates for the positions of dean and deputy dean (corresponding to the current academic vice presidents) for our three committees for Higher Education, Doctoral Education and Research.

The academic election process for 2026 has now begun. If you work or study at KI, you will be able to nominate candidates for the positions of dean and deputy dean (corresponding to the current academic vice president) between 17 November and 7 December. In nominating someone in whom you believe and trust, you help to strengthen KI and give a colleague an opportunity to drive the development of education and research at KI.

KI is strengthening the conditions for groundbreaking research and innovation by gathering and developing the research infrastructure in "Research Infrastructure KI" (RIKI). The aim is to create even better support for researchers, facilitate collaboration and ensure that KI meets future demands for development, security and competence.

Leaders and experts from Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Karolinska Institutet and Karolinska University Hospital met in Stockholm on 7 November to discuss cooperation in the fields of prevention, AI and advanced therapies. The parties have been in formal collaboration since 2023.

Maja Fjaestad, former State Secretary at the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs and until now working at the European Commission's AI Office in Brussels, will become Senior Advisor to the President at Karolinska Institutet. The position is newly established and aims to strengthen KI's position as an active and driving social actor.

Work is currently underway to develop KI's operational planning in order to facilitate dialogue and follow-up at various levels within the organisation. With the President's decision on guidelines for 2026, this planning is being initiated in various parts of KI's operations.

We are now in the throes of the autumn term – there is a lot going on and multiple important processes and projects are being conducted in parallel. On 15 October, the University Board made its decision on the future organisation of KI’s Faculty Board and committees, with the aim of creating a good balance between collegial and line organisational structures, clarifying roles and duties, and ultimately strengthening KI as a sustainable and successful university.

The Government's budget proposal for 2026 represents a positive addition for Karolinska Institutet. The President has therefore decided that KI's campus groups will receive more funding for joint priorities in 2026. At the same time, several measures are being taken to address KI's adminstrative capital.

Professor Emerita Sigbritt Werner has died at the age of 86. Sigbritt Werner was known as a highly skilled clinician and appreciated teacher. Between 2001 and 2003, she was KI's first female vice president.

President Annika Östman Wernerson has taken decisions on further aspects of KI’s new model for the allocation of the government appropriation for research and doctoral education. The decisions concern performance-bases allocations and premises costs. The model will come into effect in its entirety in 2026, replacing the former “activity” model.

This year’s draft budget has landed. For the higher education sector, we can see that the government is signalling a greater focus on excellence and competitiveness. In it, it is proposed that five per cent of the direct research appropriation be divided among universities based on excellence. There is also a general SEK 172.6 million increase in the appropriation, of which KI receives an extra SEK 20.5 million.

During a webinar on 17 September, the university management presented the principles of the proposed new model and answered questions.

Social Affairs and Public Health Minister Jakob Forssmed recently visited Karolinska Institutet to attend an international seminar arranged to mark the launch of “A call to action for adolescents mental health and wellbeing”, the second report from the Lancet Commission on Adolescent Health and Wellbeing.

We are now making an important change in how we allocate our government research funding. The new model aims to strengthen the university's future and ensure that resources are used where they are most beneficial.