News archive

We’re now a few weeks into the term, and our students - both freshers and those who have returned after the summer break – have been welcomed to Karolinska Institutet. We were once all at the start of our student careers – we need to remember this, to inspire the coming generation and include them in an enjoyable student life.

The university management has decided that the Department of Biosciences and Nutrition (BioNut) is to be wound up and its activities merged with the Department of Medicine in Huddinge (MedH). The reorganisation is scheduled to be completed by 30 June 2024.

Students and employees have now the opportunity to nominate candidates for the academic election of three new members to the Faculty Council.

Lifestyles, the pandemic and dental care were some of the topics under discussion when Minister for Social Affairs and Public Health Jakob Forssmed visited Karolinska Institutet on 28 August, the same day as the autumn term kicked off.

On August 22, Magnus Håkansson took office as head of security at KI and as head of the security unit at the university administration.

Welcome to a new academic year! Even though many of you have already returned to work after the summer break, it’s certainly when students start returning to our campuses that Karolinska Institutet becomes the gloriously vibrant place that a university is meant to be.

On 17 August the Swedish Security Service raised the terrorist threat level from 3 (elevated) to 4 (high) on a five-point scale on account of the increased threat of terrorism in the country. The Security Service believes that the threat will remain for the foreseeable future, and has raised the level as a signal to all public bodies that they must continue their efforts to reduce the risk of an attack.

Welcome to dialogue meetings with KI's new management; President Annika Östman Wernerson, Vice President Martin Bergö and University Director Veronika Sundström, in Solna on September 11th and Flemingsberg on September 12th.

At its meeting of 22 June, the government made the decision to stop all grants disbursed by the Swedish Research Council itemised as development research, effectively pulling the plug on a great deal of planned research in the field. Researchers in the sector have protested publicly against the decision, which has also been condemned by KI president Annika Östman Wernerson.

I trust that many of you are already heading off on a nice, relaxing holiday and I too will soon be taking a few weeks’ break. But the spring term is an intense one even up to the last minute, and there are a few events and impressions I like to share before sun and sea take over.

The time for a welcome and well-deserved summer break is quickly approaching. It’s a welcome period of recuperation and relaxation, and I myself will be spending it with my family at home and in the Stockholm archipelago, which offers the time and space I need to relax and think creatively.

KI-Region Stockholm is the ALF region that best meets the quality criteria in the National Board of Health and Welfare’s evaluation of academic healthcare (USV). The results of the evaluation were compiled into a report published on 31 May. Research is the Stockholm region’s strongest area, but the report also comments positively on its innovation, pedagogics education and interaction with patients and their families.

An important meeting was held on 11 May in Aula Medica for the KI-Region Stockholm management group. It turned out to be a packed strategy day that focused on common issues facing the group, including the work following on from the recently released Swedish Research Council audit, conducted under the ALF evaluation.

350 cardamom buns awaited KI’s students as they gathered for a coffee and chat with the new president Annika Östman Wernerson, who had arranged the informal meeting with the student unions to encourage a closer dialogue with the university management.

On 26 April it had been seven years since Ahmadreza Djalali, a Swedish citizen with a PhD in disaster medicine from Karolinska Institutet, was arrested during a visit to Iran.

Karolinska Institutets former President Ole Petter Ottersen has received two nice recognitions: the 2023 Friend of Stockholm's students award from the Stockholm Federation of Student Unions (SSCO) and the "Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star" from the Japanese government. Sten Lindahl, former professor at Karolinska Institutet, is also recognized with the Japanese order in the class "Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon."

The Karolinska Institutet University Board (konsistoriet) has gained two new members: director Sarah McPhee and Professor Emeritus Jan Nilsson. The decision was made by the government on 27 April in its appointment procedures for chairpersons and other external board members for 30 state higher education institutions. Their term office will run from 1 May 2023 to 30 September 2024.

The government’s decision to shorten the term of office for new board members for the country’s higher education institutions has sparked critical reactions from the sector. Annika Östman Wernerson, president of Karolinska Institutet, shares their concerns.

On April 26 it has been seven years since Ahmadreza Djalali, a Swedish citizen who received his PhD in disaster medicine at Karolinska Institutet, was arrested during a visit in Iran. Karolinska Institutet and The Human Rights Committee of Sweden’s Scientific and Literary Academies now urge in an open letter to Sweden’s prime minister, foreign minister and education minister to try all means possible to ensure the release of Djalali.

Together – and with our partners around the world – we perceive the issues that enable KI as a university to generate the most effective societal benefit in everything we do. We cannot contribute in this way alone, we the university management are now inviting all KI staff to dialogue meetings.

Veronika Sundström is Karolinska Institutet’s new university director as of 17 April. Her job is to lead KI’s central administration consisting of ten offices and over 500 staff. The president, vice-president and university director together comprise the university’s senior management.

Inspiration day for all employees on the theme "Balancing a changing and challenging world".
The day begins with a few words from the University Management followed by lectures on the theme by researchers at KI

Training the medical professionals of the future. Facilitating groundbreaking research. And working towards a knowledge-based society enriched by academic freedom. It’s a major undertaking that Annika Östman Wernerson shoulders as Karolinska Institutet’s 24th president. But she won’t be doing it alone – everyone at the university will have to do their bit.

Three weeks have now passed since I became the president of Karolinska Institutet, and it’s been an intense time, but also an exciting and occasionally slightly overwhelming.

Professor Christian Giske has been appointed deputy chairperson of the Committee for Research effective immediately, following a decision by KI’s president. His mandate runs until Dec. 31, 2025.

Since we started with the Exit poll in 2008, a lot has happened, as reflected in the results from the Exit poll, which show how more and more doctoral students are satisfied with their doctoral education.

Karolinska Institutet has been awarded a new EU prize for its long-term commitment to gender equality in higher education. The prize of 100,000 euro is the result of nearly 40 years of sustained activity to advance equal opportunities. The efforts have paid off and now KI is recognized as a role model for equality, a “Gender Equality Champion.”

I feel proud, honoured and humbled to be taking up the presidency of Sweden’s top-ranking university. Karolinska Institutet is a flagship amongst our nation’s universities and I hope that my background and experience will be of use in not only maintaining but also advancing this position.

Ole Petter Ottersen has been president of Karolinska Institutet for five and a half years. At the end of this month, February 2023, he will be leaving his office for the last time. Of all he has seen and done during this time, one day is particularly memorable.

Marie Arsenian Henriksson has been named the new academic vice president for research and chair of the Committee for Research at Karolinska Institutet as of March 1, following a decision by KI's president on February 21.

The government decided on Thursday 16 February to appoint Annika Östman Wernerson president of Karolinska Institutet. She will assume office on 1 March 2023.

Minister for Education Mats Persson met researchers and students when he visited Karolinska Institutet on 1 February. Topics of discussion with the students included the conditions relating to clinical placements, student funding rules and the situation for overseas students and doctoral students. The researchers, for their part, talked about the progress being made in areas such as precision medicine and about KI’s preparedness for new health crises.

Following a nomination process 10 people registered an interest in the position as vice president at KI. KI professor Martin Bergö is the final candidate proposed by the Election Committee for the position of vice president.

Veronika Sundström will take over as the new University Director at Karolinska Institutet. She will begin her new position on 17 April 2023.

New faculty representatives for and members of the Faculty Board, its three committees and of the Faculty Council for the term of office commencing 1 Jan 2023 and ending 31 Dec 2025.

Vice President Anders Gustafsson shares his thoughts on leadership and working methods based on lessons learned from the pandemic.

The recruitment process for KI’s new vice-president has begun, and staff and students are invited to nominate suitable candidates.

KI's university board proposes that the government appoints Annika Östman Wernerson as president of KI from March 1, 2023.

On October 4, the president of Karolinska Institutet appointed academic vice presidents and deputy chairpersons for the three committees that report to the Faculty Board: The Committee for Higher Education, the Committee for Doctoral Education and the Committee for Research. The appointees’ term of office runs from 1 January, 2023, to 31 December, 2025.

The University Board (Konsistoriet) held an extraordinary meeting Tuesday on the recruitment of Karolinska Institutet’s new president. The shortlisted candidates – Professor Annika Östman Wernerson (KI) and Professor Eva Tiensuu Janson (Uppsala University) – will now be interviewed by the Consultative College.

On Aug. 11, the election committee presented two final candidates in the hunt for a new president of Karolinska Institutet. Annika Östman Wernerson at KI and Eva Tiensuu Janson at Uppsala University were selected among some 100 potential candidates. University board chairperson Göran Stiernstedt in the election committee and Professor Erika Franzén in the search committee comment on the recruitment process.

Karolinska Institutet’s Election Committee has selected KI’s Professor Annika Östman Wernerson and Uppsala University’s Eva Tiensuu Janson as the two final candidates for the position of university president.

Several high-profile cases of intimidation, harassment and imprisoned researchers demonstrate that academic freedom is under considerable pressure. Earlier this May, KI highlighted the situation during the seminar "Academic freedom and international collaboration in a turbulent world."

Now that the application and nomination deadlines have passed, the recruitment process for KI president has moved on to the interview stage.

In May, KI held a seminar on academic freedom and international collaborations. The event explored the question of how research is impacted by a world that is characterized by war, conflict and democratic decline. It is not enough to develop new guidelines; actions need to be based on personal responsibility, says KI President Ole Petter Ottersen.

The February sun was glittering in the glazed facades when Karolinska Institutet welcomed Minister for Education Anna Ekström on Monday 28 February. Meanwhile, the situation grew gloomier in Ukraine, which was demonstrated by, amongst other things, a lecture in disaster medicine.

COMMENTARY Last night’s military aggression against Ukraine must be condemned in the strongest possible terms, comments the KI president Ole Petter Ottersen on the military aggression against Ukraine.

Johan von Schreeb, professor of global disaster medicine and director of the Centre for Research on Health Care in Disasters at Karolinska Institutet, has been named director of KI’s newly established Centre for Health Crises. The aim is to create a center based on KI’s knowledge and capability, that finds connections between groups and people, with the aim of increasing preparedness for a new pandemic or health crisis.

Karolinska Institutet (KI) president Ole Petter Ottersen’s term of office expires on 28 February 2023. The KI University Board (Konsistoriet) has therefore decided to begin an open recruitment process to propose a president and appoint a vice-president to take up office on 1 March 2023.

Following a thorough investigation and the collation of an internal survey, the president of Karolinska Institutet (KI), Professor Ole Petter Ottersen, has today decided to change the names of one of the university’s halls, propose name changes for one building and two roads on Campus Solna, and amend the naming principles.