Medals

Stockholm University awards medals to people who have promoted the university's activities in various ways. The medals are awarded in connection with the inauguration and conferment ceremony. Decisions on which people will receive medals are made by the President after preparation by the university's senior management team.

Stockholm University's large gold medal

Stockholm University’s large gold medal, worn around the neck, was instituted in 1990 and is awarded to those who have significantly and over a long period of time worked to promote the university, its research or its teaching.

2025 Recipient of the large Gold Medal

Astrid Söderbergh Widding is Professor of Cinema Studies and former President of Stockholm University (2013 – 2025). During her long service as President, she led the organisation and represented the University in a particularly exemplary manner, thus making the University visible regionally and nationally, as well as internationally. In her role as President she has been an academic leader, highly respected by the University’s teachers, students and employees, by national and international fellow university presidents, the University’s many cooperation partners, politicians and not least research funders. Her thoughtful wisdom and high integrity have always made Astrid Söderbergh Widding “the adult in the room”, the person everyone listened to, and thus generated this high level of respect for her. Before her appointment as President, Astrid held the position of Stockholm University’s first Deputy Vice President for Human Science as well as that of Vice Dean of the Faculty of Humanities.

As President, Astrid Söderbergh Widding has also filled many external roles, among them that of Chair of the Board of Trustees for the Knut & Alice Wallenberg Foundation, Chair of the Association of Swedish Higher Education Institutions, on two occasions a member of the Government’s Research Advisory Committee, Vice Chair of the Magna Charta Observatory General Council and a member of the Board of the European University Association (EUA). Since 2023 she has been Chair of the Nobel Foundation.

Astrid Söderbergh Widding’s great commitment to issues that are central to academia as well as her external roles have both directly and indirectly put Stockholm University on the map and she is a very worthy recipient of Stockholm University’s large gold medal 2025.

Stockholm University's gold medal of the 8th size

Stockholm University’s gold medal of the 8th size, worn suspended by a ribbon, was instituted in 2010 and is granted to those who have contributed in a meaningful way to strengthening the university, its research or its teaching.

2025 Recipient of Gold Medal of the 8th Size

Anders Karlhede, Professor of Physics at Fysikum – Department of Physics, has served in a number of managerial roles at Stockholm University, i.a. as the University’s first Vice President for the Science Academic Area, Dean of the Faculty of Science and Dean of the Mathematics-Physics Section of the Faculty of Science. After completing his period as Vice President, Anders Karlhede served as Advisor to the President with operational responsibility for issues concerning research infrastructure, which has contributed to high quality research at Stockholm University.

Anders Karlhede, as Advisor to the President, represented the University as a member of the University Reference Group for Research Infrastructure (URFI), and in the Stockholm Trio Working Group for Research Infrastructure. Further, Anders Karlhede has held a number of board memberships, internal as well as external, including among others the positions of Chair of the Board of the Bergius Botanic Garden and of the Board of the Centre for Palaeogenetics, member of the National Board of SciLifeLab and member of the Board of Swedish National Infrastructure for Computing, SNIC. Anders Karlhede has also been instrumental in the development of the University’s systematic quality assurance programme for research.

In addition to his various managerial roles, he has been an active researcher and teacher. In 2013 he was elected a member of the Class for Physics of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, and in 2000 elected teacher of the year at Stockholm University. Anders Karlhede’s wide experience as a researcher, teacher and academic leader has been of the greatest benefit to Stockholm University.