2026 speakers
Here you’ll find all the speakers at Nordregio Forum 2026. Please note that this page is updated regularly as we confirm speakers.
Anna Granath Hansson
Senior Research Advisor, Nordregio
With a background in real estate economics and law, Anna’s main interest is the intersection between housing, land and planning. Her research often explores institutional prerequisites for sustainable affordable housing development.
Anna Lundgren
Senior Research Advisor, Nordregio
Anna has a special interest in what makes urban and rural regions sustainable, liveable and prosperous. She has an academic background in political science and in urban and regional planning, and long experience in regional development, policymaking and governance.
Anne Katrine Ebbesen
Senior Communications Advisor, Nordregio
Anne Katrine has an academic background in rhetoric, specialising in campaign analysis, speechwriting and political discourse. Understanding exactly how language changes minds and behaviour, is what Anne Katrine is interested in. Most of her professional experience is from the fields of migration, human rights and public safety – designing strategies, writing/recording/editing content and leading projects.
Annika Östman
Head of Communications, Nordregio
Annika has a background in international relations, communications and journalism. At Nordregio, Annika and her team are responsible for communications and stakeholder engagement as integrated parts of our research projects. Planning and moderating webinars, conferences and workshops for researchers, policymakers and regional development actors is a recurring task to ensure knowledge exchange and Nordic added value.
Axel Eriksson
Communications Advisor, Nordregio
Axel Erikson is a communications specialist with a background in political science. Interested in current affairs and societal development. He is committed to making research more accessible to policy makers.
Benjamin Ullman
Junior Cartographer/GIS analyst, Nordregio
Benjamin has a bachelor’s degree in urban planning and a master’s degree in urban studies. Working mainly with Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to visualise and analyse spatial data. In addition to his analytical work, Benjamin has experience teaching in higher education and have worked as a research assistant in urban segregation.
Carlos Tapia
Senior Research Fellow, Nordregio
Economic geographer, with a multi-scalar focus on urban, rural, and regional studies. Carlos apply a combination of qualitative research methods and statistical learning tools to examine territorial inequalities, social vulnerability, and regional economic resilience across multiple scales. His research advances conceptual and empirical knowledge on social sustainability, environmental governance, and innovation systems, contributing to understanding the territorial dynamics shaping sustainable urban, rural and regional development amidst structural transformation.
Gunvor Eldegard
The Norwegian Association of Local and Regional Authorities
More information coming soon…
Henrik Lönnqvist
Manager of Urban Development, Finnish association of municipalities
More information coming soon…
Hilma Salonen
Senior Research Fellow, Nordregio
Hilma is a social scientist specialised in sustainability transitions, remote locations and energy politics. Her PhD focused on Russian regional development in the Arctic and how it links with renewable energy prospects, Hilma’s research ambition is to explore how to make sustainability transitions more just by putting more focus on habits.
Hjalti Jóhannesson
Researcher, University of Akureyri Research Centre
Hjalti is a researcher, regional development specialist, and lecturer at the University of Akureyri. He has more than 30 years of experience in applied research, regional planning, local government, and socio-economic impact assessment. He has been affiliated with the University of Akureyri Research Centre since 2000, serving as Researcher and Assistant Director, and has also taught at the University of Akureyri.
Hjördís Guðmundsdóttir
Research Fellow, Nordregio
Hjördís is a social scientist with an academic background in public policy and social protection, focused on quantitative policy analysis. Hjördís is currently finishing her MA degree in Research, specialising in rural development.
Jimmy Sand
Analyst, Swedish Secretariat for Gender Research
More information coming soon…
Jonas Kačkus Tybjerg
Research Fellow, Nordregio
Jonas has an academic background in political science, with a focus on global politics and regional cooperation, particularly in the Nordic-Baltic context. Both his bachelor’s and master’s theses explore opportunities for deeper collaboration between the Nordic and Baltic countries, with the aim to develop a stronger region.
Kenneth Nordberg
Senior Research Fellow, Nordregio
Kenneth is a political scientist specialised in democratic governance, public management and participation, with a multidisciplinary foundation in rural and regional studies. His work focuses on local and regional development processes, environmental governance, innovation systems and economic restructuring.
Lisa Rohrer
Research Fellow, Nordregio
Lisa is a creative and critical thinker who dwells on social and cultural questions related to urban spaces. Her academic and professional experience has included mixed-methods research in topics such as urban design, identity and movement (mobility, migration, tourism), nature in cities, and urban planning language. She also has a background in editorial work.
Miia Itänen
Senior Communications Advisor
Miia is a communications specialist with experience in cooperation, EU affairs and regional development through interregional learning and sharing of experiences. She strives to facilitate connections and foster collaboration among people and organizations to spark new ideas.
Nicklas Guldåker
Senior Research Fellow, Nordregio
Nicklas is a human geographer with research interests in disaster and risk management, preparedness, and resilience, often approached from citizen, regional and organisational perspectives. His research covers a range of topics, including spatial aspects of social risks, fires, crime, flooding, storms, critical infrastructure, and (un)safety.
Patrik Tornberg
Senior Research Fellow, Nordregio
Planner and human geographer with a general interest in cross-sectoral spatial planning and governance at the urban and regional level. A recurrent research theme for Patrik is the coordination of planning activities normally based on different professional perspectives, in particular at the interface between transportation and urban planning. Methodologically, Patrik prefers a combination of qualitative and quantitative research approaches.
Peter Olsson
Director of Education, Gällivare Kommun
More information coming soon…
Rolf Elmér
Director, Nordregio
Focus on business and organisational development in an international context. Long experience in working with policy- and decision-makers within regional development and the labour market.
Rolf Johansen
Climate Director, City of Aarhus
Rolf has extensive experience in climate policy, green transition, and public sector leadership, he previously served as Head of Climate, Resources and Green Transition at the Central Denmark Region (Region Midtjylland).
Sigríður Björk Jónsdóttir
Urban Planning Specialist, Icelandic housing, construction and planning authority
Sigríður holds a Master’s degree in Planning and is an advocate for social inclusion, housing equity, and dignified living conditions. Her work and public engagement highlight the intersection of planning, welfare, and community wellbeing.
More information coming soon…
Stine Kromann Dragsted
Head of Stakeholder Engagement, Partnerships and Press
More information coming soon…
More information coming soon…
Torben M. Andersen
Professor, Department of Economics and Business Economics, Aarhus University
Torben M. Andersen, Professor at Aarhus University and research fellow at CEPR, CESifo, IZA , and PeRCent. His primary research interests include the economics of the Nordic welfare model, public economics, labour economics, and the economics of pensions. Within these fields, he has published extensively in internationally recognized journals as well as books. Moreover, he has been extensively involved in policy advice in Denmark, the Nordic countries, OECD, EU Commission, European Parliament, the World Bank, the European Economy Advisory Group, and various other contexts.
More information coming soon…