Josef Hallberg

About me

I was born and raised in Kungsbacka, a small town on the west coast of Sweden. I moved to Luleå in 1996 to study for Master of Computer Science and chose to stay in Luleå after my studies to pursue a PhD. I am now an associate professor in pervasive and mobile computing, responsible for the computer science programs, the pedagogical coordinator at the Department of Computer Science, Electrical and Space Engineering, and appointed as a distinguished university teacher.

I am married (wife Karolina) and have a daughter (Ronyah), and we live in a house in Hertsön where we are happy and very comfortable. I have four siblings, two older (Patrick and Marielle) and two younger (Johannes and Rebecca), whom I am very fond of. I love my parents (Thomas and Solveig) very much. I am grateful to have such wonderful people in my life.

Interests

I am a Christian and active in the Pentecostal Church in Luleå. There, you can occasionally hear me sing, and there are several recordings of Sunday services on the Pentecostal Church's YouTube channel where I sing if you are interested. I am also a role-player and play with friends once a week, mostly fantasy role-playing games (since some others in the group prefer that). It’s a great way to spend time with friends and let go of work and everyday stress. Besides that, I am somewhat of an audiophile (someone who appreciates good sound) and enjoy listening to music (preferably acoustic and folk tunes). I also like to play computer games when I have time, although there is little personal time nowadays. Family comes first, and that’s why I sold my motorcycle and mostly use the snowmobile when I can bring the family along.

Research

My research area is primarily human-computer interaction, which involves how we humans interact with the computers in our surroundings and how computers can be used to assist us in the best possible way. I have conducted research for many years on e-health; technology designed to help people prevent health problems and to assist the elderly in maintaining their independence and dignity when managing chronic diseases. The human being has always been at the center of my research, and this probably reflects quite well who I am as a person. My research interests therefore include several areas where technology is used to facilitate human life, including gamification to help people with motivation and beneficial behavior change, health, smart environments, and more.

Teaching

I have over 20 years of teaching experience and have been appointed as an excellent teacher at Luleå University of Technology. In addition to the courses I teach, I also provide instruction in managing stress and low self-esteem, study techniques, and I give inspirational lectures for other teachers. Among other things, I have published an online course, "Workplace Wellbeing: How to Build Confidence and Manage Stress," which was selected by Class Central as one of the top 100 new online courses in the world in 2021, and around 10,000 people have already taken the course. The course is now also published at Luleå University of Technology, where you can access it for free.

• Workplace wellbeing: How to build confidence and manage stressLänk till annan webbplats, öppnas i nytt fönster External link.
• Videos with study tips External link.

De courses I teach regularly include

• Software engineering
• Objectoriented analysis and design
• Interactive websystems
• Interactive systemsdesign
• Project in computer science

Teaching areas

• Objectoriented programming (Java)
• Software engineering and software development
• Human-computer interaction
• Sustainability
• Equality and Equity
• Technology and Health
• Study technique