Margunn AanestadView profile
Professor
Margunn Aanestad is a Professor in Digital Innovation at the Department of Informatics (IFI), Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Oslo (UiO). With 25 years of research experience focused on healthcare digitalization, she examines how digital technologies transform organizations and societies at multiple analytical levels. Her work spans healthcare information systems, digital innovation, and information infrastructures across the Nordic region and internationally. Her research interests center on understanding digital transformation through a sociotechnical lens, particularly examining how work practices evolve when based on digital monitoring rather than physical visits, how organizations become 'data-driven' through advanced analytics, and how sector-level ecosystems require new technical and regulatory solutions for data sharing. She investigates information infrastructures as interconnected systems rather than isolated technologies, working at the intersection of Information Systems (IS), Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW), Science and Technology Studies (STS), and organizational theory. Her empirical work primarily focuses on healthcare digitalization, including patient records, collaboration solutions, patient portals, digital home monitoring, and emerging AI applications for personalized medicine. Professor Aanestad leads research within the Digital Innovation (DIN) group at UiO and has been involved in significant projects including KINT (From local breakthroughs in knowledge to integration into medical practice) and CORPUS (New competence requirements in the public sector: The consequences of digitalization for work with different degrees of specialization). She previously held a Professor II position at the University of Agder (2019-2022) and maintains active collaborations with NTNU, BI Norwegian Business School, Diakonhjemmet Hospital, and Copenhagen Business School. Her publication record demonstrates consistent high-impact contributions across information systems, healthcare innovation, and digital governance. Recent work explores critical perspectives on digital solutionism, data governance spaces for personal health information, and the sociotechnical dimensions of implementing data infrastructure in public sectors. She examines how digital technologies create both opportunities for innovation and complex challenges related to governance, inclusion, and sustainability. Professor Aanestad's educational background includes engineering degrees in medical technology (1992) and technical sciences (1994) from Stavanger University College. Before joining UiO as a PhD student in 1998, she worked as a department engineer at Rikshospitalet and as a senior engineer at Telenor. Her career trajectory reflects deep engagement with both technical implementation and theoretical understanding of digital transformation processes.











