Linley Chiwona Karltun

Prior to joining SLU, I was an Adjunct Lecturer in the Department of Nutrition at Uppsala University (UU) and an Education Trainer and Administrator at the Karolinska Institutet (KI), Sweden. My teaching portfolio focused on interdisciplinary international nutrition, agriculture, and health, as well as nutritional epidemiology and biostatistics. Between 1999 and 2010, I collaborated with African, Asian, and South American universities to establish the Global NutrITion programme, a professional continuing education initiative funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida).

From 2008 to 2010, I served as a Scientific Coordinator and Trainer with the International Foundation for Science (IFS), where I was responsible for Food Science and Nutrition and led initiatives on Women in Science. My passion for intergenerational mentorship took root during my time at IFS, where I brought together a cadre of African professionals to conduct workshops and train mentees and mentors in scientific writing and communication for the African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD) programme.

Over the past three and a half decades, I have conducted research and capacity-building programmes primarily in Africa and collaborated with colleagues across Central and Latin America, Asia, Australia, Europe, and North America. I also serve on global, international, and local advisory boards, drawing on my interdisciplinary experience and African diaspora expertise.

My pursuit of research is shaped by my exposure to the Ethiopian famine of 1984-1985, which internally displaced 2.5 million people and was caused by a combination of drought and war. Climate change challenges place Africa in a precarious position and must be addressed by placing smallholder agriculture at the center of solutions. I seek to understand how households and communities sustain their agrifood systems that meet both their nutritional needs and cultural preferences. To explore these questions more deeply, I work collaboratively in interdisciplinary teams. I apply a cultural ecology approach to plant varietal selection, food preferences, and consumption. My research further examines pathways to socially just livelihoods in rural Africa, paying particular attention to advancing gender equality and indigenous knowledge systems.

My philosophy of teaching and capacity building is anchored in the African worldview of human interdependence, Ubuntu, where the collective takes precedence over competitive, individualistic notions of success. With more than three decades in academia, I design and convene courses with an international perspective, grounding my teaching in empirical research. I aim to help students develop the skills and confidence needed for their learning journeys, emphasizing the importance of affirming others without fear of being out-competed. Through intentional investments in intergenerational mentoring across research, educational cohorts, and advisory roles, I have cultivated networks for early-career scholars that have led to remarkable professional outcomes. I also collaboratively develop interdisciplinary training programmes that support women in academia by addressing challenges in gender, science, and leadership, while critically examining the myths of meritocracy and imposter syndrome.

Associate Professor, Rural Development, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences

PhD International Health, Karolinska Institutet, Sweden

MSc. Human Nutrition, Uppsala University, Sweden

BSc. Food Nutrition & Institutional Management, East Carolina University, USA

Patrick Mugiraneza, Understanding Gender and Emerging Agricultural Technologies in Rwanda (Main Supervisor)

Marie Christine Dusinguize, Gender dynamics in smallholder poultry farming in Rural Rwanda (Main Supervisor)

Alice Nayabo, Effects of school feeding on smallholder farmer's production and income: Rwanda's food system change (Main Supervisor)

Ferdinand Nkikabahizi, Enhancing agricultural yield through climate change adaptation: Empirical insights from rural Rwanda (Assistant Supervisor)

International Rural development (15hp)https://student.slu.se/en/studies/courses-and-programmes/course-search/course/LU0086/20106.2425/International-rural-development/

Gender, science and leadership in higher education (University of Dar es Salaam 2017; University of Rwanda 2025) https://www.udsm.ac.tz/news/multi-billion-sida-funds-boost-research-sustainable-development-udsm

ICT, gender and rural transformation  (University of Rwanda 2025) https://ursweden.ur.ac.rw/?q=node/576

Farming, food consumption and health (University of Rwanda 2025)  https://ursweden.ur.ac.rw/?q=node/576

Gender and rural entrepreneurship (University of Dar es Salaam 2018) https://www.udsm.ac.tz/news/multi-billion-sida-funds-boost-research-sustainable-development-udsm

Urbanization and food security (University of Botswana 2014)  https://www.ub.bw/