Learning, education and digitalisation
Short description
The research theme focuses on research about digital technologies and their implications for preschool, school, higher education as well as for society and working life more generally.
About the research theme
The research theme Learning, Education and the Digitalization of Society (LEaD) focuses on how digitalization informs and reshapes the conditions for learning, education, and working life. Digitalization is one of the most significant forces driving societal development, changing how we communicate, work, and collaborate. These transformations, in turn, affect educational practices and professional roles across different sectors of society.
Today, we live largely digital lives as we work, study, consume, and maintain our social relationships online and with the support of digital resources. Understanding how digitalization alters the conditions for educational practices is therefore an urgent issue in contemporary society.
Within this research theme, we are also interested in how digitalization transforms professional practices and competencies in public sector organizations. Questions such as how datafication, with the access to and processing of large data sets, and artificial intelligence (AI) change the conditions for learning, collaboration, and organizational leadership are central to our research.
A key goal of our work is to offer a research-based perspective on digitalization in relation to learning across various domains of knowledge, through empirical and practice-oriented studies that adopt a nuanced and critical approach.
National and international collaboration
Our research is interdisciplinary and conducted in collaboration with scholars from various fields. We have a long-standing partnership in education and research with the Department of Applied Information Technology at the Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Gothenburg.
Our international partners include researchers at the University of Oslo (Norway), University of Helsinki (Finland), The Open University (UK), Stanford University (USA), and Monash University (Australia). We also participate in several international research organizations such as EARLI, ECER, and others.
The research theme also engages in several collaborative outreach activities. Among these is the PopUpDig conference, aimed at teachers and school leaders in preschool and compulsory school, focusing on issues related to the digitalization of education.
Research Networks
We collaborate across the Nordic region on issues concerning the digital transformation of higher education, together with researchers and universities in Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Iceland. The network organizes regular webinars, workshops, and other activities.
Read more about the EDUCERE NORDIC network (funded by the Swedish Research Council) here: www.hh.se/educere
We also coordinate a national network on Text, Information and Multimodality in the Digital Age (TIMDA), which hosts regular meetings and maintains a blog: https://timda.nu
Another initiative is the Underwater Virtual Reality Network (funded by the Swedish Research Council), bringing together researchers from Europe, the USA, and Australia to explore the use of immersive technologies to promote ocean awareness, nature connectedness, and well-being.
We are also partners in the Research Capability Hub (UKRI ESRC, The Open University), a five-year project starting in autumn 2025, which develops new approaches to building research capability within the social sciences. The Hub strengthens researchers at all career stages across academia, the public sector, industry, and civil society.
Seminars
Within the LEaD research theme, three seminar series are organized for researchers and doctoral students:
HE HUB Research Seminar
A seminar series focusing on current research in higher education. Each session features leading scholars who share insights on key themes, methods, and trends in the field.
Led by Professor Mona Lundin, Associate Professor Linda Bradley, and Professor Sylvana Sofkova Hashemi.
TEKNO Seminar
Part of the CUL Graduate School thematic activities, this seminar presents and analyzes research on digitalization and education.
Led by Professor Annika Bergviken Rensfeldt (Faculty of Science and Technology) and Professor Mona Lundin (Faculty of Education).
Sociocultural and Dialogical Studies (SDS)
A collaborative research community focusing on learning, knowledge practices, and societal development through studies of social interaction and communicative processes. Activities include data sessions, manuscript reviews, and other collegial exchanges.
Led by Professor Åsa Mäkitalo.
