Ulli Samuelsson

Assistant Professor of Education
Department of Education , School of Education and Communication
Presentation Publications

Research

Ulli Samuelsson's research focuses on IT usage and digital competence from a societal perspective, with an emphasis on the human aspect. Currently, this research is conducted, among other ways, through participation in the research project Welfare@home, which explores the user perspective of welfare technology in the home, focusing on older individuals receiving home care and their caregivers. The project is funded by the Kamprad Family Foundation.

As part of Ulli's tenure as a senior lecturer, research on young people's digital competence and digital inclusion will also be resumed in 2025.

Since completing a PhD in 2014, Ulli has also participated in two other research projects focusing on older adults' digital competence and digital inclusion. These two projects, funded by Forte and the Kamprad Family Foundation, have contributed knowledge about how different categories of older individuals, in their everyday lives and at various life stages, used or did not use, and perceived digital media and applications, as well as what can enable digital participation among older adults.

Knowledge about older adults' digital participation remains limited, despite political hopes that digital technology will help address the challenges of an aging population.

Biography

Ulli Samuelsson, born in 1967, has a background as an IT educator in the private business world, both as an employee and as an entrepreneur. Ulli has been employed at HLK since 2003, until 2014 as an assistant professor and from 2014 as associate professor of education. 

During the period from February 2021 to January 2025, was Ulli Associate Dean of Education at School of education and communication.

2019 and 2020 Ulli was active at the Jönköping Academy for Improvement in Health and Welfare. This is in the role of regional manager for the national project Mötesplats Social Innovation.

From 2011-2018, Ulli was also the director for the Human Resources Program, one of the bachelor programs at HLK. Under Ulli's leadership, this program was developed into the bachelor programs Human Resources with a specialization in Psychology or Business Administration.


In 2004, Ulli took the master's degree in pedagogy at HLK. The degree also included psychology and sociology. In addition, Ulli has a university education in project management, leadership and change management. 2014 she publicly defended her doctoral thesis “Digital (in)equality? ICT use in school and pupils' technological capital”. The general aim of the thesis is to increase the knowledge base of digital (in)equality by empirically charting and theoretically interpreting the use of information and communication technology (ICT) by young people.

Article

Olsson, T., Samuelsson, U., Viscovi, D. (2019). Resources and repertoires: Elderly online practices European Journal of Communication, 34(1), 38-56. More information
Olsson, T., Samuelsson, U., Viscovi, D. (2019). At risk of exclusion? Degrees of ICT access and literacy among senior citizens Information, Communication and Society, 22(1), 55-72. More information
Samuelsson, U. (2012). Young People’s Information-seeking in School - A Breeding Ground for Digital Inequality? Nordic Journal of Digital Literacy, 7(2), 117-131 Oslo: Universitetsforlaget . More information
Samuelsson, U. (2010). ICT use among 13-year-old Swedish children Learning, Media & Technology, 35(1), 15-30 London: Routledge . More information

Doctoral thesis

Samuelsson, U. (2014). Digital (o)jämlikhet? IKT-användning i skolan och elevers tekniska kapital (Doctoral thesis, Jönköping: School of Education and Communication). More information

Book chapter

Samuelsson, U. (2022). Att kliva in, och vara kvar, i det digitala samhället. In: C. Bjursell & M. Malec Rawiński (Ed.), Äldres lärande: utblickar och insikter (pp. 137 -150). Stockholm: Natur och kultur More information
Samuelsson, U. (2021). Ålderspensionärer och digitaliseringen. In: Livslångt lärande - för välbefinnande, mångfald och delaktighet (pp. 86 -88). Jönköping: Encell - Nationellt centrum för livslångt lärande More information
Samuelsson, U. (2021). Digitalt utanförskap. In: Nationalencyklopedin (NE.se) Malmö: Nationalencyklopedin More information
Samuelsson, U., Olsson, T. (2014). Digital inequality in primary and secondary education: findings from a systematic literature review. In: Matteo Stocchetto (Ed.), Media and education in the digital age: concepts, assessments, subversions (pp. 41 -62). Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang Publishing Group More information

Conference paper

Samuelsson, U. (2021). Support for digital inclusion among elderly – a complex challenge. ESRAD Online conference 2021, 23rd to 25th April, 2021. More information
Bjursell, C., Bergmo-Prvulovic, I., Hedegaard, J., Hugo, M., Samuelsson, U. (2021). Continued growth later in life – older adults learning. European Society for Research in Adult Development (ESRAD), Online conference 2021, 23rd to 25th April, 2021. More information
Olsson, T., Martinez, C., Samuelsson, U., Viscovi, D. (2019). Who Becomes a Silver Surfer? Resources, Repertoires and Technological Histories among Connected Seniors. The International Association for Media and Communication Research conference, July 7-11, Madrid, Spain. More information
Samuelsson, U., Olsson, T., Viscovi, D. (2017). Differences and similarities among Swedish senior users and non-users of the internet: Who and Why?. Senior Citizens Domesticating ICTs Symposium, Lund, April 27–28, 2017.. More information
Olsson, T., Samuelsson, U., Viscovi, D. (2016). Senior Citizens’ ICT Access, Use and Literacy: How Material Resources Matter. Prague: CZECH-IN, 6th European Communication Conference : Mediated (Dis)Continuities : Contesting Pasts, Presents and Futures, Prague, 9-12 November, 2016.. More information
Samuelsson, U. (2015). The future is already here – Learn to master IT!. The 6th conference of the ESREA Network on Education and Learning of Older Adults, 14-16 October, Jönköping, Sweden. More information
Samuelsson, U. (2010). ICT as a tool for learning or amusement among 13 years old Swedish children. The 6th conference of the ESREA Network on Education and Learning of Older Adults, 14-16 October, Jönköping, Sweden. More information
Samuelsson, U. (2010). Present but not always used: Attitudes to and actual use of new media among 13-year-old Swedish children. The 6th conference of the ESREA Network on Education and Learning of Older Adults, 14-16 October, Jönköping, Sweden. More information

Blog Post

Samuelsson, U. (2021). Är inte alla digitalt kompetenta? . More information