News archive

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.

Karolinska Institutet's record-breaking international recruitment of 20 assistant professors focused on excellence has been a great success. With over 2,700 applications from 1,560 researchers in 89 countries, the initiative has had an impact that strengthens KI's position as one of Europe's most attractive medical universities.

Nearly 500 employees from Professional Services (GVS) gathered in Aula Medica on August 26 for the first staff meeting of the fall semester. The agenda included current issues at KI, a status report from the GVS management team, and an in-depth look at part of KI's core activities with Anna Pettersson – teacher, researcher, and recipient of KI's 2025 Pedagogical Prize.

The summer offers a valuable opportunity for recuperation – without which it is a struggle to take on the challenges of the autumn with a sharp, engaged mind. I spent the holidays with family and friends in the Stockholm archipelago and in the Jämtland fells. Hiking and sitting down for a coffee on a sun-warmed rock provides time for reflection and re-energising ahead of a new term at Karolinska Institutet.

The most important party of the summer took place on 2 August when KI's students, alumni and staff danced in the colourful Pride parade in Stockholm. For many participants, this was the best day of the summer when leading universities gathered under the Academic Pride flag and the focus was on inclusion and human rights.

Zandra Milton will take up her new position as chief legal officer at Karolinska Institutet on 1 November 2025. She succeeds Helén Törnqvist, who will retire in August after many years of appreciated work. During the transition period, Helena Scarabin will be acting chief legal officer.

The University Board has decided to extend the terms of office by six months for all academic vice presidents, vice chairs, and faculty representatives in the Faculty Board and the three committees, from 1 January 2026 to 30 June 2026.

We’re heading towards the holidays with sure signs of summer: expectation and pride at the degree ceremonies in Aula Medica, blossoming elderflower on campus and the forthcoming political week in Almedalen.

The meeting focused on efforts for communication support, a new project office, and a project for managing research data. There was also time for questions and answers about the project to modernise working methods and the workplace.

The rapid transformation we are now seeing in the healthcare sector brings a growing need for municipally provided health promoting and preventative activities, and, consequently, for research and education. On 3 June, KI signed collaboration agreements with Solna City and Upplands-Bro municipality, marking an important step towards reinforcing such strategic partnerships between the university and local government.

Five 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 and will be presented this year at the installation ceremony on 9 October.

A day does not go by now without a report on the severe suffering that Israeli military strikes are causing the civilian population of Gaza. The situation is worsening by the day, as we witness the blatant and repeated abuse of international law and of the Gazans’ right to security and functioning schools, hospitals and workplaces.

When Martin Bergö and I entered office as, respectively, vice-president and president just over two years ago, we also entered an extensive dialogue with all the different parts of KI. This was a conscious strategy that gave rise, in part, to several focus areas for strengthening KI through the establishment of sustainable structures, greater collaboration, clarity and transparency.

Anna-Stina Malmborg, former docent of clinical microbiology at Karolinska Institutet and consultant and director of clinical bacteriology at Karolinska University Hospital for 17 years, has passed away at the age of 95. She and her husband Gunnar Höglund (1931–2019) set up the foundation that finances the Karolinska Institutet Prize for Research in Medical Education (KIPRIME).

Earlier this month, the Swedish Research Council published a report on the quality and impact of medical research in Sweden. The fact that Karolinska Institutet emerges in a very positive light fills me with pride – our research is of a very high scientific standard and has given rise to groundbreaking discoveries of major societal importance.

Ola Larsson has been appointed as Head of the Department of Oncology-Pathology (OnkPat), starting July 1, 2025. The appointment is for five years, and the decision was signed by Dean Carl Johan Sundberg on April 10, 2025. Ola Larsson, who previously served as vice Head at OnkPat, will take over the role from Lars Holmgren.

New initiatives and new collaborations are constantly arising in the life science field, both within and outside KI’s walls, making it hard to form a comprehensive picture of everything that’s happening. As presidential advisor, Clara Hellner will be providing insight into what’s going on and the challenges facing it.

The Swedish Research Council has published its report "Quality and impact of research in basic medicine in Sweden", which evaluates the scientific quality and societal impact of medical research at seven universities. Karolinska Institutet is a leader among Swedish higher education institutions.

On March 25, KI's Professional Services (PS) gathered for a digital staff meeting. The agenda included news within PS, security issues, the Microsoft 365 license, the government's research bill for the next four years and KI's prioritised focus areas.

In an evaluation presented on 19 March, the Swedish Higher Education Authority (UKÄ) states that certain areas of biomedical analyst programmes throughout the country need to be improved in order for students to receive the best possible education. At the same time, there are strengths in the programmes that can inspire further development, according to the results from UKÄ.

Karolinska University Hospital has recently adopted a new RDE (research, development and education) strategy. The strategy is now firmly anchored with Karolinska Institutet. For us, collaboration with Region Stockholm is a priority – strong regional collaboration and partnerships with the private sector are essential if Sweden is to reinforce its international position in medical research and development.

The research bill for 2025-2028 announces, among other things, calls that require coordination of applicant universities. KI’s President Annika Östman Wernerson has decided to set up a steering group with the task of simplifying and overseeing these processes and other upcoming initiatives in the government's research policy.

This year’s operational plan for KI’s Professional Services (PS) and University Library is now ready for viewing. “The joint document is intended to ease communication, enhance transparency and build a mutual understanding of how each unit contributes to KI’s shared goals in Professional Services and other parts of the university,” says University Director Veronika Sundström.  

The conditions under which research and education collaborations with the USA operate are in danger of being undermined by decisions announced by the country’s recently instated president. Here, Karolinska Institutet’s president Annika Östman Wernerson comments on the situation and talks about what KI can do to prepare for any changes that might come.