As a young journalist, Tomas Sniegon had fantastic material – more than one hundred hours of interviews with the former KGB chairman Vladimir Semichastny. It was intended for a memoir, but time moved on and the market was suddenly saturated with Soviet confessions. Twenty years later, the winds have changed. There is renewed interest in looking back to understand both Russia and President Putin, who also has roots in the KGB. So there will be a book after all, although not a memoir but an analysis of memory – as the author is now a middle-aged history researcher.

“With small means and good will you can accomplish a lot in a short period of time”, says Henrik Lundgren, CEO of EFL, the School of Economics and Management’s foundation for executive education. In six weeks, the foundation started an integration project for newly arrived academics in Sweden, several of whom have already acquired permanent employment.

Peace-building, mediation and justice issues have always been on the agenda. But the researcher path was not the obvious choice for Karin Aggestam, who has now been appointed to the prestigious Pufendorf chair. She is both the first woman and the first political scientist to obtain it – and she hopes to pave the way for an international Master’s programme in diplomacy.

Many Swedes have large debts, and being in debt is often expected to lead to poor health. However, economist Therese Nilsson at the School of Economics and Management finds that we still do not know enough to determine whether it is the debt itself that leads to ill health – or if ill health leads to debt.

“When his head moves it makes me happy and I feel appreciated. I believe I like to think of him as a living thing. He is charming.”
A test subject explains her feelings about the robot called Hobbit – a social robot that works as a communication tool, support and company for elderly persons. It can fetch pills, find keys, pick up things from the floor, notify someone in case the person has fallen down, and provide entertainment. The idea is for a robot like Hobbit to create opportunities for elderly people to remain in their own homes longer.

Fifteen engineers from Syria have enrolled as students at the Lund Faculty of Engineering (LTH). For one year, they will top up their degrees with Swedish university credits and take an intensive language course in Swedish. The idea is to create a shortcut to employment for people who are relatively new in Sweden.

“Sweden is currently making a lot of progress in issues concerning sustainability. The country is at the forefront and it is exciting to be a part of it”, says the new director of LUCSUS, Emily Boyd.

Why do humans and other mammals have two kidneys, but only one heart and one brain?
“Because the kidneys are so important, of course!” says Diana Karpman – partly joking and partly serious. As a consultant and professor in nephrology, she really does think these organs are among the most essential in the body.

The Bible clearly still plays a role in current politics and culture. But do research findings on Bible texts reach wider society and, if so, do they influence groups of religious practitioners?
Jennifer Nyström, a doctoral student in Bible studies specialising in the apostle Paul, has pondered these questions.

During the week of Midsummer, Sweden will inaugurate its largest investment in research ever made – MAX IV Laboratory.
“It has been a long process and it feels amazing that all the electrons and light are now working”, says Pro Vice-Chancellor Stacey Ristinmaa Sörensen, responsible for the University’s infrastructure and Professor of Synchrotron Radiation Physics.