News 2025
October 2025
PhD Conference on Sustainable Development: Highlights from Juridicum
On 9 October, the Agenda 2030 Graduate School arranged this year’s PhD Conference on Sustainable Development. It was a day full of inspiration, insights, and lively discussions.
The program began with a keynote by researcher Torsten Krause and continued with workshops, panels, and seminars exploring sustainability from multiple perspectives. The atmosphere throughout the day was open, reflective, and dynamic — just as intended.
The conference brought together PhD students to share ideas and foster dialogue on sustainable development. We’re already looking forward to next year’s event and to continuing these important conversations!
September 2025
New Book from Agenda 2030 Graduate School: Through the Kaleidoscope of Sustainability
We are proud to announce the release of Through the Kaleidoscope of Sustainability: 25 Essays, a new book written by PhD students and alumni from the Agenda 2030 Graduate School.
The book brings together 25 essays rooted in the authors’ own research, spanning all faculties at Lund University and offering diverse perspectives on sustainability. The essays are organized into four themes, exploring topics such as global–local dynamics, tensions between Sustainable Development Goals, and the fundamental question: To grow or not to grow?
The initiative came from the doctoral students themselves, who not only wrote the essays but also curated the thematic connections. The publication was celebrated at the newly renovated University Library with readings, discussions, and cake.
The book was edited by Markus Gunneflo, coordinator of the Agenda 2030 Graduate School, with layout by Magnus Bergström.
Read more and download the book - Open Books at Lund University
May 2025
Agenda 2030 Award winner - Jesica López
We have a winner! Jesica López has been awarded the Lund University Agenda 2030 Award for her research on the endangered Amazon rainforest.
Jesica, an alumna of the Agenda 2030 Graduate School, receives the award for her doctoral thesis on how expanding cattle ranching threatens the Colombian Amazon. Her study is set against the backdrop of rainforests being burned and turned into pasture – destroying fragile ecosystems with exceptionally rich biodiversity. This destruction also reduces the forests’ ability to sequester carbon and protect against global climate change.
Two additional projects receive honourable mentions:
- Jamie Woodworth, who initiated “death cafés” in response to her own climate anxiety, creating spaces to talk about life and death. Her PhD research explores end-of-life care and how welfare cuts lead to increased burdens on carers, especially women.
- Lina Lefstad, who examines the much-debated CCS (carbon capture and storage) technology and its implications for climate justice, including storing CO₂ beneath the seabed.
Read more about the Agenda 2030 Award 2025
April 2025
Congratulations to our two new PhDs
Congratulations to Linn Ternsjö at Lund University School of Economics and Management and Billy Jones at the Joint Faculties of Humanities and Theology, who both successfully defended their theses with distinction.
Linn Ternsjö’s research explores how the textile industry in Mauritius has affected working conditions and social sustainability, particularly for women and migrant workers.
Billy Jones’s research investigates why efforts towards sustainable development in Baringo, Kenya, have often failed when international projects overlooked local solutions, and how pastoralists have instead developed their own strategies, such as grass farming, to cope with climate change and marginalisation.
Research on iron deficiency among female students
Nearly four in ten female secondary school students suffer from iron deficiency. Among vegetarians and vegans, seven in ten have low iron levels, according to a new study led by Agenda 2030 Graduate School PhD student Anna Stubbendorff.
The research has received considerable attention in the press, radio and television.
Read the article and her top five tips for better iron absorption
February 2025
Thirteen new PhD students join the Agenda 2030 Graduate School
At the start of the new year, the Agenda 2030 Graduate School at Lund University welcomed thirteen new PhD candidates from seven faculties. This exciting addition to the Graduate School expands the school's interdisciplinary research efforts. The candidates' research cover a wide range of topics, from waste management and energy transition to biodiversity and the effects of a warming climate on childbirth.