Welcome to UR and Kunskapshuset

UR (Swedish Educational Broadcasting Company) is part of the public service broadcasting group in Sweden, with Swedish Radio (SR) and Swedish Television (SVT). UR’s mandate is to produce and broadcast educational and general knowledge programmes which enhance, fill out, and strengthen the work of others active in education. We take particular responsibility for those with disabilities and for those among ethnic and language minorities in Sweden. We run the Knowledge Channel in collaboration with SVT and also broadcast on SR and SVT channels. UR is financed by household radio and television licence payments.

Erik Fichtelius, managing director, UR, Swedish Educational Broadcasting Company

The central term describing our strategy is: we are to be useful. That permeates all we do, so that our programmes can be used throughout the educational system – from pre-school level to university level. We strive continually to improve accessibility on the Web, in order to make UR an even more effective source of support for teaching staff, pupils, students and parents. We aim at "liberating educational programmes" so that all our 11,000 television and radio programmes become available to everyone – where and when required.

Our assignment

The knowledge corporation, Swedish Educational Broadcasting Company, UR, has an assignment to produce schools and adult education programmes for all from pre-school to university level, programmes that are to enhance, fill out and strengthen the work of other educational institutions. We also have an assignment to produce programmes for groups not always seen or heard – cultural and ethnic minorities and those with disabilities.

The assignment is based on an agreement with parliament and government; with Sveriges Television (Swedish Television) and Sveriges Radio (Swedish Radio) we comprise Sweden's public broadcasting service. All three corporations are run as limited companies without profit demands and are financed in the main through household radio and television licence payments.

What we offer

We operate the Knowledge Channel jointly with SVT and even our own programmes are transmitted on the SVT and SR channels. We make programmes for all age groups, from young pre-school children to those in higher education and adult education. To maintain high quality in our programmes and keep them at the right knowledge level, we follow Swedish departmental educational guidelines when we produce our programmes for children and adolescents. We are, moreover, in continual touch with experts and reference groups.

Our four media pedagogues collaborate from a nationwide perspective with our target groups. At seminars, in dialogue, information gatherings and workshops they contribute to increased knowledge on how to incorporate what UR has to offer in their teaching. If you would like to know more about UR's media pedagogical work, please get in touch at mediepedagoger@ur.se

Knowledge when you want it, where you want it

What distinguishes us from the other public broadcasting corporations is the fact that our programmes are intended for school and general enlightenment purposes. This means our programmes can live on, long after their initial broadcast. UR has a bank of more than 11,000 programmes for loan by all from pre-school to university; our programmes make it easier to be a teacher and more fun to be a student.

Our radio and television programmes are accessible on UR Play, for six months after their broadcast. Schools can receive our material via their Mediacentral ("media centre").Teachers can borrow programmes or watch them in streaming via the Web. Adult education colleges and study groups can access our programmes via Folkbildningskanalen (adult ed. channel), and universities and colleges via UR Access. Our programmes can be purchased as well, via UR's customer service – from within Sweden: 020 58 58 58 or from abroad: + 46 8 784 42 40.