This article has been translated with DeepL.
LISTA | Lund University pulls away – most theses in innovation and entrepreneurship
- Published: 26 Feb 2026,
- 8:11 AM
- Updated: 26 Feb 2026,
- 8:11 AM
Between 2020 and 2025, 234 people received a doctorate in innovation and entrepreneurship research in Sweden. Most theses were presented at Lund University, which strengthens its position compared to the years 2020-2023.
Lund University tops the list with 27 dissertations. It is followed by Jönköping University (19), Linköping University (18) and Luleå University of Technology (18), which share third place.
Compared to Esbri’s previous compilation for the years 2020-2023, it is still the same universities at the top. The difference is that Lund has increased the distance to the others, while Luleå University of Technology now advances to a shared third place.
– It’s great that we still lead the list and have also increased the distance to other universities. At the same time, there may be temporary variations. The most important thing is that more theses are being produced in the field of innovation and entrepreneurship, both at our university and at other universities around the country, says Kristina Eneroth, Vice-Rector at Lund University.
At Lund University, research is conducted within the Center for Innovation Research (Circle) and the Sten K. Johnson Center for Entrepreneurship (SKJCE). At the same time, some theses in the field also come from other institutions.
– “It’s positive that issues of innovation and entrepreneurship are having an impact in more environments. It shows that the field has become widely established within the university, which I hope will contribute to even more theses in the future,” says Kristina Eneroth.
Women in the majority
Women are in a clear majority among those with a doctorate in the field. Of the 234 PhDs awarded during the period, 136 were women and 98 men. The difference was greatest in 2025, when 70% of theses were written by women.
Full list of theses 2020-2025
| LESSON | NUMBER OF THESES 2020-2025 (2020-2023) (per HEI) |
| Lund University | 27 (19) |
| Jönköping University | 19 (16) |
| Linköping University | 18 (13) |
| Luleå University of Technology | 18 (12) |
| KTH | 17 (11) |
| Stockholm University | 17 (12) |
| Stockholm School of Economics | 14 (9) |
| Chalmers | 12 (9) |
| University of Gothenburg | 12 (8) |
| Swedish University of Agriculture | 11 (10) |
| Uppsala University | 11 (8) |
| Halmstad University | 10 (4) |
| Linnaeus University | 8 (7) |
| Blekinge Institute of Technology | 7 (5) |
| Umeå University | 7 (3) |
| Örebro University | 5 (5) |
| University of Gävle | 4 (1) |
| Karlstad University | 4 (2) |
| Mid Sweden University | 4 (1) |
| Mälardalen University | 4 (0) |
| Dalarna University | 2 (1) |
| University of Borås | 1 (1) |
| Malmö University | 1 (1) |
| Södertörn University | 1 (1) |
More about the list
The list of doctoral theses 2020-2025 is based on the annual compilations made by ESBRI since 2020.
To the list of universities that delivered the most theses in 2025.
