Years 2020–2024

2024

• Honorary Doctors of Philosophy are appointed: Stefan Forsberg, former Director of the Stockholm Concert Hall and former CEO of the Stockholm Concert Hall Foundation and the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra; Lars Gyllenhaal, author; and Elin Anna Labba, author.
• Honorary Doctor of Technology is appointed: Karin Bodin, Group CEO of Polarbröd.
• Alumni of the Year are appointed: Christopher Wagelin, actor, and Katherine Bennell-Pegg, astronaut.
• The Centre for Sports and Performance Technology (SPORTC) is inaugurated.
• The University launches its AI initiative, which includes a 40-hour training programme for all staff. LinkedIn Learning is also launched for all employees.
• The University receives approval from the Swedish Higher Education Authority (UKÄ) to award degrees in psychology.
• The Swedish government invests in research on critical metals and minerals, and provides long-term funding to the Centre for Advanced Mining and Metallurgy (CAMM) at Luleå University of Technology.
• The University is one of the partners in a new multidisciplinary research centre for sustainable, mobile and resilient satellite communication in 6G.
• New research at the University shows how recycled wood-polymer composites (WPC) and textiles can be key to more sustainable materials. Through innovative methods of creating biocomposites, the study contributes to a circular economy and reduced environmental impact.
• Luleå University of Technology is awarded SEK 41.1 million from Riksbankens Jubileumsfond for a research programme on historical land conflicts in northern Sweden.
  It is decided that Luleå University of Technology will offer a programme for specialist teachers with two specialisations: language, writing and reading development, and mathematics development.
• Four of the University's projects in robotics and AI are included on IVA’s 100 List. Projects in tribology and sustainable materials are also featured.
• The Swedish Research Council is tasked with proposing how Sweden’s e-infrastructure for research can be developed, and appoints the University’s Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Pär Weihed, as investigator for the assignment.
• The Swedish Centre for the Arctic and Antarctic, a collaboration between Luleå University of Technology, Umeå University and the Swedish Polar Research Secretariat, is established. It will coordinate national and international activities that strengthen Swedish research and education on polar issues.
• Several researchers at Luleå University of Technology are ranked among the top two percent in the world within their research fields. This is shown in an international compilation from Stanford University based on citation data from the extensive Scopus database.
• Luleå University of Technology mobilises its resources to offer rapid retraining opportunities for those made redundant by Northvolt.
• The Swedish government invests SEK 30 million in Campus Total Defence – an initiative by the Swedish Defence University, Luleå University of Technology and Örebro University – with the aim of bringing together Sweden’s higher education institutions to contribute to national security.
• Högskolepejlen 2024 shows that Luleå University of Technology’s Master of Science in Engineering programmes rank top in terms of strongest labour market establishment after graduation.
• Geogränd at the Luleå campus becomes Märkesgränd as student societies paint their crests there.
• Luleå University of Technology becomes the first university in Sweden to receive a frequency permit from the Swedish Post and Telecom Authority (PTS) to conduct 6G testing in a simulated mining environment.
• Inequality in e-commerce is widespread – both between managers and workers, and among workers depending on class, gender and ethnicity – according to a doctoral thesis from the University.
• A new doctoral thesis in political science at Luleå University of Technology shows that opposition to new mine establishments in Sweden has increased since 2010.
• A research review at Luleå University of Technology shows that good leadership, time to consult colleagues, balance between demands and control, social support, and organisational continuity are factors influencing the willingness of staff to remain in the care sector.
• Researchers at the University are developing a unique AI-based method to optimise cross-country ski glide for different conditions.
• The University launches a gender equality initiative to increase the proportion of female professors in strategically selected areas.
• Within the Wallenberg initiative WISE, in which Luleå University of Technology participates together with six other universities, the largest-ever Swedish investment in materials science is being made.

2023

• Honorary Doctor of Philosophy is awarded to Staffan Göthe, actor, playwrighter and director.
• Honorary Doctors of Technology are awarded to Alice Kempe, Chair of the Kempe Foundations, and Jan Moström, President and CEO of LKAB. Peter Englund (appointed in 2022), author and member of the Swedish Academy, is also participating in this year’s academic ceremony.
• Alumni of the Year are Mattias Perjos, President and CEO of Getinge, and Nike Sellmar, artist and winner of Swedish Idol 2022.
• Researchers at the University are developing a natural hydrogel that can, for example, be used as a wound dressing to protect damaged skin. The hydrogel is derived from algae, significantly improving the efficiency of the production process.
• Trafikverket decides to fund a new centre of excellence in road engineering with nearly half a billion SEK over twelve years. The centre will consist of five leading research institutions in the field: Lund University of Technology, Chalmers University of Technology, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Luleå University of Technology, and the Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute.
• In a report analysing public interventions during the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers at the University conclude that society must improve its consideration of environmental, climate and gender equality goals in its crisis support measures.
• Through a national recommendation, researchers at the University aim to reach parents to encourage children to be active on their way to school, and to urban planners to create the necessary conditions.
• In a new scientific article, researchers at the University propose a strategy for early diagnosis of neurological diseases. By using brain-derived molecules measurable in saliva, it may be possible to detect changes leading to Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disease – long before symptoms appear.
• The largest research collaboration in Sweden to date between academia, institutes, and industry on fossil-free advanced steel production is launched. Luleå University of Technology, the metals research institute Swerim, and SSAB are collaborating in the project.
• Luleå Railway Research Centre celebrates its 25th anniversary and signs a cooperation agreement with train manufacturer Alstom.
• A research report shows that active work on gender equality is crucial for the green transition.
• The robotics and AI team is building a new underground research facility in Luleå.
• The EU and the Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth are funding a facility at Luleå University of Technology’s pilot plant, LTU Green Fuels, to research hydrogen solutions.
• The Jubilee Fund holds its first final, awarding nearly SEK 10 million to research projects at the University.
• The University collaborates with the World Bank on a hydrogen project in developing countries.
• Four researchers from the University in information security are included on IVA’s 100 List.
• The University becomes a knowledge partner to Generation Pep.
• The School of Music stages a baroque opera (La Calisto) in a silent film setting.
• Works by architecture and design students from the University are exhibited at the international architecture exhibition at the Venice Biennale 2023.
• Maria Lundgren is appointed new University Director.
• Sara Thorgren is appointed new Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Education and Quality.
• Charlotte Wiberg is appointed Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research and Collaboration.

2022

• Peter Carlsson, CEO and co-founder of Northvolt, is appointed Honorary Doctor of Philosophy and Technology.
• Lisbeth Löpare-Johansson, coordinator at the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions (SKR), and Christopher Weible, professor at the University of Colorado Denver, are appointed Honorary Doctors of Philosophy.
• Eva Nordmark is named Alumnus of the Year.
• The old Kalix Bridge from 1957 is given a second life as a research object at Luleå University of Technology, both before and after its demolition/dismantling. Researchers in bridge construction used it to investigate and measure the old bridge’s capacity and potential deficiencies to increase understanding of the risks posed by ageing bridges.
• Luleå University of Technology’s course “Workplace Wellbeing: How to Build Confidence and Manage Stress”, developed by Associate Professor Josef Hallberg, was featured on Class Central, a list of free courses from universities and colleges around the world, among the 100 most popular online courses of the past year.
• The AIF/R project at Luleå University of Technology provides actors in the railway sector with opportunities to collaborate on a neutral platform. This includes 360-degree photography and laser scanning to map the infrastructure.
• The Land and Environment Court receives criticism from two researchers at Luleå University of Technology for lacking argumentation in a report on the so-called Cementa ruling. The researchers argue that knowledge exchange between industry and the permitting authorities needs improvement.
• The University’s hydrogen initiative CH2ESS appoints Cecilia Wallmark as director of operations. She has over 20 years of experience in hydrogen and fuel cell technology. CH2ESS also celebrated its one-year anniversary during the year.
• The research institute RISE and Luleå University of Technology are investigating plans to build a high-pressure hydrogen pipeline around the Gulf of Bothnia, an enormous infrastructure investment. The aim is to develop scenarios and solutions for hydrogen’s role in the energy system.
• What is hidden in the snow? Among other things, microplastics, zinc, copper, and lead, according to samples taken by University researchers. The researchers conclude that awareness needs to increase: when you move snow – you also move pollution.
• LKAB is donating SEK 200 million to a newly established foundation aimed at promoting research and education at Luleå University of Technology, with a focus on sustainable mining.
• Researchers at Luleå University of Technology confirm that advanced steel and iron production existed in Norrbotten as early as 2,000 years ago.
• The University is deepening its collaboration with South Africa through the South Africa–Sweden University Forum (SASUF).
• From autumn 2022, the University is offering a distance learning course in political science with a focus on environmental and climate policy.
• A new education programme is launched: specialist nurse with a focus on elderly care.
• The project #fulltäckning aims to reduce digital exclusion by increasing mobile coverage in rural areas – thereby creating opportunities for more people to live and work there.
• The University held an extra Academic Ceremony in May exclusively for new doctors, who are numerous after the pandemic when the Academic Ceremony had to be cancelled.
• A unique teacher education programme with a focus on leadership is offered by the University in collaboration with Teach for Sweden and was presented during a parliamentary seminar.
• The results from three studies involving over 270,000 people with asthma or COPD from the Swedish Respiratory Registry were presented by researchers from the university. They were able to draw conclusions about which factors were significant when people with diagnosed asthma or COPD were hospitalised or died from COVID-19.
• Research in Structural and construction engineering celebrated 50 years.
• Luleå University of Technology’s Professor Malin Malmström was one of the keynote speakers at Sweden’s first women’s parliament.
• The University is launching two new research subjects: cybersecurity and psychology.
• The first research projects within the future area of sustainable precision health – PRECISE – are starting.
• Kristiina Oksman, professor of Wood and Bionanocomposites, is the researcher who has been most cited in scientific journals and conferences among researchers at Luleå University of Technology.
• The University is participating in a major EU project on carbon capture and utilisation (CCU), where researchers at the University, together with the biorefinery SunPine, are capturing the factory’s carbon dioxide using biotechnology.
• In the collaborative project Autoplant, it has now been shown that it is possible to prepare soil and plant forests completely autonomously.
• The Arrowhead Tools project culminates in Eclipse Arrowhead and has led to significant time savings. Processes that previously took a month now take a week, and what used to take a week now only takes a few hours.
• As part of the international organ research project The Global Hyperorgan, musicians are exploring how remote control of instruments affects the music, but also what happens when one type of instrument is used to control another.

2021

The year 2021 was characterised by the 50th anniversary of Luleå University of Technology. Many different activities and events that initially had to be delivered digitally due to the ongoing pandemic. During the autumn, however, a few physical events could be carried out before new restrictions were introduced.

• Luleå University of Technology's 50th anniversary began in January with a digital inauguration of the year of democracy.
• In the spring of 2021, articles and interviews with old and new employees were published as well as more, mainly digital, seminars and lectures at Vetenskapens hus.
• LTU challenges and quizzes on the University's history were launched on the web.
• July 1 celebrated 50 years since the decision to establish Luleå University with a film with the Vice-Chancellor, Rune Andersson and former Prime Minister Ingvar Carlsson.
• Digital inauguration of the 50th anniversary on September 9 with speeches by the Vice-Chancellor and others. Students from the Academy of Music at LTU entertained.
• On 11 November, an acclaimed Anniversary Concert was held in Kulturens Hus with students, alumni and employees from the Academy of Music at LTU.
• The nomination Alumni of the Year went to former students Shilpi Sinha, Amanda Jansson and Maria Häll.
• The Academic ceremony on 13 November was held in the sign of the anniversary, where Anders Sundström was awarded the Luleå University of Technology's anniversary medal, which was awarded for the first time. Erik Höglund and Karin Axelsson each received a medal of merit from the university.
• On December 8, the anniversary book "50 years of change" was launched in an event at Vetenskapens hus.
• Sofia Jannok and Sara Arnia are appointed Honorary Doctors of Philosophy.
• Anders Sundström is appointed Honorary Doctor of Technology and Philosophy.

In addition to the 50th anniversary:

• With the new initiative SUN – Natural Resources for Sustainable Societal Transformation, the University wants to make it clear that northern Sweden has the potential to globally lead the way for a successful transition of the basic industry. Within SUN, the University will, in close cooperation with Swedish industry, develop the natural resource-based basic industry towards the UN's sustainability goals.
• The University started a collaboration with the Swedish Olympic Committee on technology research for performance development in sports. SOK's research and development manager H-C Holmberg is linked to Luleå University of Technology as an Adjunct professor.
• In February, Luleå University of Technology signed the declaration for strong democracy.
• The multi-million investment Creaternity was presented. With hundreds of researchers in 25 different research subjects and a new graduate school, the new circular economy will be developed with the help of artificial intelligence, telecommunications and sensor technology.
• According to a decision by the Vice-Chancellor, all education programs at Luleå University of Technology must have introduced a mandatory gender equality education during the first year of the education by the autumn of 2021.
• The cooperation between Luleå University of Technology and the Swedish Public Employment Service in commissioned training for foreign-born engineers is expanded. The education offer is supplemented with two new fast tracks in electrical power and energy technology that will meet the industry's need for the right skills.
• Luleå University of Technology is the only Swedish university participating in a new major project on carbon neutral autonomous mining. In the EU-funded NEXGEN SIMS, technology, methods and processes for more sustainable mining operations will be developed.
• At a special residence in Övertorneå, Luleå University of Technology opened Sweden's northernmost test bed for 5G. The purpose of the test environment is to facilitate the use of new technology in the health and care sector.
• In May, the University announced an extensive research and education initiative, CH2ESS, in close collaboration with leading basic industries and energy producers. The focus is on hydrogen in industrial processes and energy systems.
• Trafikverket is investing SEK 150 million over ten years in pioneering railway research at Luleå University of Technology, focusing on the operation and maintenance of infrastructure and railway bridges. This will give Sweden railways with increased reliability and service life, higher capacity and safety – and more punctual trains.
• In July, a new record is set for the number of admissions to Luleå University of Technology's education. 13,835 people have been admitted to the University's programs and courses that start in the autumn semester of 2021. This is an increase of just over ten percent compared to the previous year.
• In September, The King and Queen visited Luleå University of Technology. They met students, teachers, researchers and the Vice-Chancellor to hear how the pandemic has affected studies and teaching.
• The self-driving forestry machine designed and built at Luleå University of Technology can now also handle autonomous forestry, i.e. collection and transportation of roundwood. It is the first time in world history that forestry is done completely without human intervention. The researchers behind the successful trial see it as an important step towards more sustainable forestry.
• In tough competition, the Swedish Energy Agency chose to invest in a new competence centre, the Swedish Centre for Sustainable Hydropower, with Luleå University of Technology as the main applicant.

2020

• The year is characterised by the corona pandemic. On March 18, Luleå University of Technology and other Swedish universities switch to distance learning and exams. During the pandemic, the University donates protective equipment from laboratories, researchers 3D print holders for visors used in healthcare and several research projects related to the corona pandemic are initiated. These include a study on ventilator care during COVID-19, based on the COVID-19 ward created at Piteå Hospital in connection with the pandemic outbreak. Other research areas examines how particles are spread when a person coughs with and without a face mask, and whether sampling wastewater could be a possible method to predict future outbreaks. In another project, researchers in history and nursing – together with a large number of stakeholders – will gather knowledge and experience from the ongoing pandemic in Norrbotten.
• The Kamprad Family Foundation takes the initiative for NorrlandsNavet, a knowledge center at Luleå University of Technology based on the companies' need for knowledge to strengthen and develop northern companies. The foundation invests a total of SEK 100 million over eight years.
• Charlotte Kalla and Jessica Meir are appointed as Honorary doctors of technology.
• Dean A Shepherd is appointed as an Honorary doctor of philosophy.
• Luleå University of Technology has been granted ten million by the Swedish Energy Agency to, in collaboration with the packaging company BillerudKorsnäs, develop a technology that captures carbon dioxide from industry for future storage in Swedish bedrock.
• Eva Hamilton, former CEO of SVT, becomes the new Chairman of the Board of Luleå University of Technology.
• 60 million goes to a new wood technology initiative. A unique computer tomograph, specialising in in-depth wood X-ray will be delivered to the laboratory for wood technology. The equipment is an important component of CT Wood, a newly launched strategic research program in wood technology focused on applied research in close collaboration with the wood industry.
• Luleå University of Technology starts a new master's degree program in applied artificial intelligence (AI). It is the first master's degree program in the world in applied AI with a specialisation in AI and neuroscience. The program starts in the autumn of 2021.
• The virtual mine developed by researchers at Luleå University of Technology has been awarded a special innovation prize at the Swedish Mining Innovation Award 2020.
• Two new cross-border research areas at Luleå University of Technology – CREATERNITY and SUN – will contribute to the transition required for a sustainable industry and societal transformation.
• Luleå University of Technology signs strategic cooperation agreements with Boliden, Northvolt, Skellefteå municipality, and RISE Research Institutes of Sweden, as well as Kiruna municipality.
• The Students' house is inaugurated in March.
• September 10 was the digital inauguration of the new university library in Luleå, with speeches by, among others, Vice-Chancellor Birgitta Bergvall-Kåreborn. After the renovation, the university library is considered one of the most modern research libraries in Sweden.
• Luleå University of Technology and four other Swedish universities are appointed as new European universities within the framework of an initiative from the European Commission.
• A record number of students, almost 12,500, are admitted to Luleå University of Technology in the fall semester 2020 (selection 1). This is an increase of 23 percent compared to the previous year.
• The Hybrit technology can make Sweden the first in the world to deliver fossil-free steel. Luleå University of Technology participates in research on the hydrogen-based steel production within Hybrit.
• The self-driving forest machine designed and built at Luleå University of Technology is now completed and ready to be tested in the field.
• Meleknur Alevcan, who helped hundreds of elderly people with free therapy during the corona pandemic, and Helena Hed, President and CEO of listed PE Teknik & Arkitektur, are appointed Alumni of the Year.
• The Active School Transport project was awarded SEK 15.8 million. With 17 partners and funds from, among others, Vinnova, researchers Stina Rutberg and Anna-Karin Lindqvist will develop the concept, with the vision that 80 percent of children in primary school will use active school transport.
• Luleå University of Technology's researcher Nils Jansson is one of the people behind the discovery of a completely new mineral, which has now been named zinkgruvanit.
• The elite sports initiative at Luleå University of Technology is growing. In March, the former captain of the Swedish national cross-country skiing team Joakim Abrahamsson is presented as the new manager and coach for elite sports at Luleå University of Technology, with a special focus on cross-country skiing, biathlon and ski orienteering. In the autumn, over 20 students spread over eight different sports are participating in the initiative.
• The DISIRE project, coordinated by Luleå University of Technology, is included in the Solar Impulse Foundation's list of the 1,000 best technologies that can change the world.
• Expanded capacity and even better performance will be the result when Luleå University of Technology expands its 5G test bed with an indoor system. The 5G system is developed by Telia and Ericsson and the facility opens up new opportunities for both researchers and companies.