Awarding honorary doctorates recognises the contribution that an individual has made to the activities and development of our university. All employees have the opportunity to submit nominations. The selections were made by a special workgroup led by Vincent Nierstrasz, Professor at the Swedish School of Textiles, on behalf of the Research and Education Board. The decisions were made by the Board in consultation with the Vice-Chancellor of University of Borås. 

“We are delighted to welcome these renowned individuals to our Academic Ceremony this spring. They are three people from very different fields – business, academia, and politics – who have distinguished themselves in different ways and made very honourable contributions,” said Eva Gustafsson, Chair of the Research and Education Board.

"The tradition of conferring degrees on those who have not followed the usual academic path, but who in some other way have benefited research directly or indirectly through, for example, authorship, cultural preservation, popular education, association activity, or educational or informative work, are also part of the university’s efforts to promote openness and contacts outside the traditional research community," said Mats Tinnsten, Vice-Chancellor at the University of Borås.

On 2 May, the honorary doctors will each give a public lecture at the University of Borås. The following day, they will be awarded their degrees at the university’s Academic Ceremony at the Borås Congress Centre. 

2024 Honorary Doctors    

Ingvar Carlsson

Ingvar Carlsson has been one of Sweden’s most influential politicians over 40 years as a cabinet minister, party leader, and Prime Minister. During his time as Minister of Education, he was something of a patron saint of the Swedish School of Library and Information Science, as he was instrumental in moving librarian training from Stockholm to Borås. With a twinkle in their eye, the librarian students named their union magazine “I Carlssons klister” (in English “In Carlsson's Glue”). In his latest book ”I sällskap med döden” (in English “In the Company of Death”), Ingvar Carlsson describes how the library was where he discovered culture. In his book, he expresses how democracy is under threat, and how people can unite around human rights. Questions about media and information literacy, disinformation, how information is created and affects us are issues that are highly relevant for today's librarians, as well as for the research environment of the Swedish School of Library and Information Science, and society at large.  

Ingvar Carlsson will be awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Library and Information Science.

Lecture: "Borås City Library: That's how it started." 2 May at 11:30 (in Swedish)

Staffan Hillberg

Staffan Hillberg is a successful entrepreneur with significant experience in building and developing companies. Thanks to a combination of Staffan Hillberg's deep understanding of ongoing research in the field of Resource Recovery and his technical knowledge and skills as an entrepreneur and investor, the Swedish Centre for Resource Recovery research environment has gained valuable international contacts and moved from theory to successful practice. One example is the development of Millow AB, which Staffan Hillberg co-founded and where he is currently Chair of the board. The company produces plant-based foods using filamentous fungi in a process that produces very low carbon dioxide emissions as well as having low water and energy consumption in comparison to similar products. It builds on the research of the Swedish Centre for Resource Recovery and has won the Sustainable Food Solutions Challenge 2023 in Switzerland. 

Staffan Hillberg will be awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Resource Recovery. 

Lecture: "Sustainability Innovations from the University of Borås”. 2 May at 10:15 (in Swedish)

Xianyi Zeng

Xianyi Zeng is a well-renowned full professor at the ENSAIT Textile Engineer School at the University of Lille and Director of the GEMTEX National Laboratory. He has the French National Knight's title in the Order of the Academic Palms and was holder of the Innovation R&D Award from the National France-China Committee in 2021. His main research interests include artificial intelligence applied to textiles, fashion and textile digitalization, sensory analysis, intelligent wearable systems, computerized garment design and customized production management. Xianyi Zeng has been an important and highly valued partner of the Swedish School of Textiles. He initiated and coordinated the highly successful European research school SMDTEX, Sustainable Management and Design in Textiles (2013-2020), which was financed by the EU through the Erasmus Mundus programme. A significant part of the 15 doctoral students who obtained their doctoral degrees in Textile Technology and Textile Management, are now employed at the University of Borås and other universities. In addition, a large number of scientific papers were produced through these collaborations. Through Xianyi Zeng's involvement, the entire environment and its internationalisation were strengthened in the field of Textiles and Fashion at the Swedish School of Textiles. 

Xianyi Zeng will be awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Textiles and Fashion. 

Lecture: "Creating an AI-Based Metaverse for Fashion and Textile". 2 May at 09:00 (in English)

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All honorary doctors at the University of Borås

The Academic Ceremony