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Lund University breaks record for The Conversation in 2024

Books in piles on a table.

The year 2024 was a record year for Lund University in terms of the number of articles published in The Conversation. Fifty-five articles by 50 researchers amassed a total of 1.6 million reads. Mikael Roll, a researcher at the Joint Faculties of Humanities and Theology, topped the list with an article about the brain and reading.

The Conversation is an international news website that gives researchers the opportunity to reach a broad audience. Lund University, which became a member of The Conversation in 2017, set a goal one year ago to increase its number of publications. For 2024, the goal was 40 articles, and the aim is to further increase the number of publications in 2025

“It was very pleasing to see so many LU researchers publishing articles in The Conversation in 2024 and to note the impact they had. There is so much exciting research being carried out at LU, so I hope that there will be even more publications in 2025,” says Per Mickwitz, pro vice-chancellor for research, sustainability and campus development.

Smooth collaboration

The Faculty of Social Sciences published the most articles: 20 articles with 330,000 reads. However, the HT Faculties, with 400,000 reads for their ten articles, have the highest total number of reads. The Faculty of Science has published the same number of articles, while the Faculty of Medicine also ranks highly in terms of the number of reads per article – its eight articles have amassed an average of 36,000 reads. 

The strong showing by the HT Faculties is in large part due to Mikael Roll, professor of phonetics, whose article “People who are good at reading have different brains”, now has over 200,000 reads. The article is based on a newly published scientific study.

“It’s overwhelming. I have received many questions from readers and have been interviewed by a South African radio station. It is easy to write for The Conversation when you have just finished a research article. You can approach it like writing for an older relative,” says Mikael Roll.

He appreciated the collaboration with The Conversation’s editor Miriam Frankel.

“I am very impressed. Miriam Frankel was fast and good at making the content more oriented towards a wider public,” says Mikael Roll. 

Mikael Roll sees two reasons why the article became so popular: the debate about the reading crisis, both nationally and internationally, and the timing just before Christmas, when interest in books and reading increases.

The Faculty of Medicine’s figures were boosted by Christel Nielsen, associate professor of epidemiology, whose article about tattooing and cancer risk garnered over 160,000 reads. However, the study had an enormous international impact after a press release, so it is unclear what is due to The Conversation and what is due to other media. She is also satisfied with the collaboration.

“It was a real pleasure to work with The Conversation. I appreciated both writing together with the journalist who helped me – it was constructive and time-efficient – and the format itself. A lot of people are still getting in touch with me about the study. This feels particularly important as one of the aims was to give the public tools to make informed decisions about tattooing,” says Christel Nielsen.

Top among Swedish higher education institutions

Even though 2024 was a record year for the University regarding the number of published articles it did not measure up to the exceptional reading figures noted in 2020 and 2021. During this period, there was great interest in both Sweden’s management of the pandemic and research in general. The latter was also a factor in The Conversation having a record number of visitors.

Besides Lund University, Karolinska Institutet and Stockholm University are members of The Conversation. Lund University has published more articles than Stockholm University (30) and Karolinska Institutet (23). However, KI is at the top in terms of the number of reads – 2.3 million compared with Lund University’s 1.6 million.

Most viewed articles in 2024

  1. Mikael Roll – People who are good at reading have different brains (9 December 2024) – 195,000 reads (published late in the year and has had more reads in January) 
  2. Christel Nielsen – Tattoos associated with a 21% greater risk of lymphoma – new study (4 June 2024) – 163,000 reads
  3. Wim Carton, Andreas Malm – How mainstream climate science endorsed the fantasy of a global warming time machine (9 October 2024) – 80,000 reads
  4. Moa Petersén, Lena Halldenius – Sweden is a nearly cashless society – here’s how it affects people who are left out – 18 December 2024 – 76,000 reads (published late in the year and has had more reads in January) 
  5. Mattias Tranberg – Why are some people happy when they are dying? (18 July 2024) – 74,000 reads

Please note: The list was revised after The Conversation discovered in autumn 2024 that a journal reported incorrect reading figures. A previously top-ranked article is therefore no longer on the list. According to the platform, nothing similar has ever happened before and they point out that they maintain a high level of quality to ensure reliable figures in future.

Would you also like to write for The Conversation?

On the Staff Pages you will find all the relevant information about The Conversation and the process of turning your idea into an article. Do you already have an idea? You could discuss it with your local communications officer who deals with the press or contact Ellen Albertsdóttir, communications officer with responsibility for The Conversation at Lund University: ellen [dot] albertsdottir [at] fsi [dot] lu [dot] se (ellen[dot]albertsdottir[at]fsi[dot]lu[dot]se)

Use this pitch form to contact them. If you do not receive an answer, think about whether your idea is expressed clearly and simply – a strong idea can be summed up in a single sentence. Also remember to explain why you are the right person to write the article, and ensure that you choose the right section and edition, e.g. The Conversation UK.