Carl Magnus Olsson
Associate Professor

Presentation

Vice director and responsible for external relations for Sustainable Digitalization Research Center (SDRC), previously known as Internet of Things and People (IOTAP) research center. I also participate as researcher in the Biofilms Research Center for Biointerfaces, am research leader for the Digital Health Research Group, and program coordinator of Vertically Integrated Projects (VIP).

Background

My research is positioned within the design and use of context-aware systems. These can be characterized as adapting their behavior to relevant changes in the environment they are in, and the human agents that are using them. With a background in software engineering as well as human-computer interaction, my interests have always been on how such technology can be developed and made into viable products relevant for end users. My publications therefore span from the more development oriented perspectives such as concept development and assessments, to user studies and data-driven indicators from use-time.

Digital health

Most of my work today is focused on digital health as application area, and making context-aware technology available for clinical researchers. This is enabled by sensors embedded in mobile phones and wearable devices such as smart watches, armbands, and rings having greatly improved in quality and biometric data they can provide. Using Mobistudy as the platform for most of our research, we work with a number of clinical partners in e.g. Parkinson's disease (Karolinska Institute and University of Edinburgh), spinal cord injury (National Hospital for Paraplegics, Toledo), pulmonary diseases (Oxford University Hospitals), and asthma (Usher Institute).

Our role in these projects is typically to provide and adapt the Mobistudy platform so that modern wearable and mobile technology can be incorporated into clinical studies. We also develop and test indicators for complex conditions, and provide standardized and validated tests that allow patients to be monitored and in their home environments rather than always have to go into clinic to do tests. This includes for instance the submaximum physical capacity and function tests such as Six Minute Walk Test (6MWT) and Timed Up and Go (TUG) which are commonly used within cardiology and neurology.

Aside from research using Mobistudy or similar technology, we also drive patient and public involvement initiatives (PPIs) and run workshops and interview studies with stakeholders relevant to digital health innovation. This includes co-design, ideation and other participant engaging approaches.

Design mechanisms that promote trust, including e.g. privacy by design and privacy-preserving machine learning, as well as data visualization and transparency enhancing tools are core to the human-computer interaction side of my research.

Other research and activities

Since starting at Malmö University, I have led major projects assoctiated with sensor and data driven systems through our research center Internet of Things and People (IOTAP), which from 2025 has become the Sustainable Digitalization Research Center (SDRC) and includes all faculties of the university. This is done in close collaboration with a large number of industry partners, including directly integrated in research and development projects at these companies. Funding agencies of projects that I lead or am involved in include the Swedish Knowledge Foundation, Vinnova, Mats Paulsson Foundation, K2, STINT, and the European Commision.

I supervise a number of PhD students including several industrial PhD students from companies I have close collaboration with, and have supervised 30+ MSc and BSc theses. Many MSc and BSc theses have been at companies and extended after completion to conference or journal publications by the students, the students and myself, or the students and colleagues at other universities.

I received the Stefan Bengtsson Research Leader award 2019 at Malmö University, and the individual pedagogical prize at the University of Gothenburg 2010, for the Industrial IT and Embedded Systems Project (nominated by students from four different years of that project).

For teaching, I focus on doctoral courses, but have an extensive background as course responsible for Embedded Systems, Software Processes and Improvement, Change Management, Software Architecture, Game Design, Game Engine Driven Product Development, and Research Methods, to name some. I teach exclusively using Problem Based Learning (PBL), and have self-developed pedagogical material for several courses emphasizing student-involvement during course and learning goal development. I also have book chapters on e.g. how to effectively structure and package text in theses and similar project driven courses.

During 2017-2020 I was local project manager at Malmö University for the South Africa - Sweden University Forum (SASUF), where I was also part of all preparatory work for the application and involvement of South African universities. Internationalization and in particular support for emerging researchers in building an international platform of collaborators for their reserarch is one of my core interests. I am fortunate to have spent parts of my time as guest researcher in the US, as well as have my PhD from the University of Limerick, Ireland. I am also part of university wide strategy initiatives and internationalization, and am external representative in the Health and Society faculty board.