Karolinska Institute facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Karolinska Institute

Karolinska Institutet
Former names	Kongl. Carolinska Medico Chirurgiska Institutet (1817–1968)
Motto	Att förbättra människors hälsa (Swedish)
Motto in English	To improve human health
Type	Public
Established	1810; 215 years ago (1810)
Endowment	576,1 million EUR (2010)
Budget	SEK 6.67 billion
Vice-Chancellor	Annika Östman Wernerson
Administrative staff	4,820 (2016)
Students	6,481 (FTE, 2020)
Doctoral students	2,039 (2020)
Location	Solna , Stockholm County , Sweden 59°20′56″N 18°01′36″E / 59.34889°N 18.02667°E / 59.34889; 18.02667
Campus	Solna (Main) and Flemingsberg
Colors	KI Plum

The Karolinska Institute (often called KI) is a famous medical university in Sweden. It's known worldwide for its important research. This university is special because its professors choose who wins the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Fifty professors from different medical fields at KI make this big decision. The current leader of the Karolinska Institute is Annika Östman Wernerson. She started her role in March 2023.

The Karolinska Institute began in 1810 on an island in Stockholm. Later, its main campus moved to Solna, just outside Stockholm. A second campus was built more recently in Flemingsberg, south of Stockholm. KI also has a special Centre for Reparative Medicine with locations in Stockholm and Hong Kong.

KI is Sweden's third oldest medical school. It started after Uppsala University (1477) and Lund University (1666). It's one of Sweden's largest places for medical training and research. About 30% of all medical training in Sweden happens here. Also, over 40% of all medical and life science research in Sweden is done at KI. It gets about one-third of all government money for medical research in Sweden.

The Karolinska University Hospital works closely with the university. It's a place where students learn and doctors do research. Most medical programs are taught in Swedish. However, many PhD projects are done in English. The institute's name comes from the "Caroleans," who were soldiers from Sweden's past.

Nobel Prize Winners from KI

The Karolinska Institute has been home to many Nobel Prize winners. These scientists made amazing discoveries that helped improve human health.

• 1955 Hugo Theorell was the first KI scientist to win a Nobel Prize. He won for finding out how oxidation enzymes work in the body.
• 1967 Ragnar Granit received the Nobel Prize. His work helped us understand how our eyes see light and color.
• 1970 Ulf von Euler won the Nobel Prize. He discovered how nerve cells send messages in our bodies.
• 1981 Torsten Wiesel and David H. Hubel shared the Nobel Prize. They found out how our brains process what we see.
• 1982 Sune Bergström and Bengt Samuelsson also shared the Nobel Prize. They discovered important substances called prostaglandins.

Symbols on the KI Seal

The Karolinska Institute's official seal has some interesting symbols. Each symbol has a special meaning related to health and medicine.

Rod of Asclepius

This symbol is a snake wrapped around a staff. It's named after Asclepius, the ancient Greek god of medicine. People believed this god could heal illnesses.

Snake Bowl

The snake bowl is often seen with Hygieia, who was Asclepius's daughter. She was the goddess of health. The snake eating from her bowl was a sign of good luck. It does not mean the snake's venom was used.

Cockerel

A cockerel (a male chicken) is a symbol of new life. In ancient times, people would offer a cockerel to Asclepius when they got better from an illness. The famous Greek philosopher Socrates even mentioned this tradition in his last words.

Studying at Karolinska Institute

Building of the Medical Students' Union Medicinska Föreningen at KI.

The Karolinska Institute offers many different medical courses in Sweden. Many of these courses include hands-on training in hospitals. The nearby Karolinska University Hospital is very important for students' learning.

Around 6,000 students are currently studying at KI. They take courses at both Bachelor's and Master's levels. Each year, 20 high school students from all over Sweden are chosen for a special summer research program at KI. It's called "SoFo" and teaches them about biomedical science.

Departments at KI

The Karolinska Institute has many different departments. Each department focuses on a specific area of medical science and research.

Nobel Prize Decisions

Press Conference for the Nobel Laureates in Physiology or Medicine 2014, held at the Karolinska Institute.

The Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute is a special group. This group decides who wins the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. It is made up of fifty professors from the Karolinska Institute. They are chosen by the university's faculty.

This Assembly is a private organization. It is not officially part of the Karolinska Institute itself. A smaller group, the Nobel Committee, helps by finding and checking possible winners. This committee has five members. They recommend who should win, but the final choice is made by the Nobel Assembly.

When the Nobel Prize first started in 1901, the whole faculty of KI decided the winners. But KI is a government university. This means it has to follow certain laws, like sharing public information. To keep the Nobel Prize decisions secret for 50 years, a special private group was created. This way, the rules of the Nobel Foundation can be followed.

Famous People from Karolinska Institute

Many important scientists and doctors have studied or worked at the Karolinska Institute. They have made big contributions to science and medicine.

• 

  Jöns Jacob Berzelius

• 

  Carl Gustaf Mosander

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  Karolina Widerström

• 

  Pehr Edman

• 

  Ivar Wickman

• 

  Nanna Svartz

• 

  Ulf von Euler

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  Herbert Olivecrona

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  Ragnar Granit

• 

  Hugo Theorell

• 

  Sune Bergström

• 

  Torsten Wiesel

• 

  Tomas Lindahl

• 

  Ewa Björling

• 

  Lennart Nilsson

• 

  Johan Harmenberg

• Jöns Jakob Berzelius (1779–1848): A professor at KI. He created modern ways to write chemical formulas. He also discovered elements like silicon and selenium.
• Carl Gustaf Mosander (1792–1858): A chemist who studied with Berzelius. He discovered elements like lanthanum and erbium.
• Axel Key (1832–1901): A pathologist and former leader of KI. He started what is now the Journal of Internal Medicine.
• Karl Oskar Medin (1847–1928): A children's doctor. He was famous for his studies on poliomyelitis (polio).
• Nanna Svartz (1890–1986): The first female professor at the Karolinska Institute. She was a pioneer for women in Swedish universities.
• Ulf von Euler (1905–1983): A physiologist and Nobel Prize winner in 1970.
• Herbert Olivecrona (1891–1980): He started neurosurgery in Sweden.
• Ragnar Granit (1900–1991): A Nobel Prize winner in 1967.
• Hugo Theorell (1903–1982): A Nobel Prize winner in 1955.
• Lars Leksell (1907–1986): A doctor who invented radiosurgery and the Gamma Knife.
• Sune Bergström (1916–2004): A Nobel Prize winner in 1982.
• Torsten Wiesel (born 1924): A Nobel Prize winner in 1981.
• Sven Ivar Seldinger (1921–1998): A radiologist who invented the Seldinger technique.
• Bengt I. Samuelsson (born 1934): A Nobel Prize winner in 1982.
• Tomas Lindahl: A Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry in 2015. He is a cancer researcher.
• Lennart Nilsson (1922–2017): A famous photojournalist and documentarian.
• Johan Harmenberg (born 1954): An Olympic champion in fencing.

See also

In Spanish: Instituto Karolinska para niños

• Karolinska Institute Prize for Research in Medical Education
• Sahlgrenska University Hospital
• Royal Institute of Technology
• Stockholm School of Economics
• Stockholm University
• The New Karolinska Solna University Hospital, opened in 2015
• S*, a collaboration between seven universities and the Karolinska Institute