17 May Local academia strives for global collaboration
Jón Atli Benediktsson, Rector, University of Iceland, highlights the institution’s tradition of pushing forward local innovation and international collaboration.
What are the University of Iceland’s competitive advantages on the global stage?
There are several fields in which the University of Iceland excels. We are world leaders in all studies regarding Icelandic culture and society as this is part of our mission. Furthermore, we have extremely advanced geosciences, engineering and medicine and health sciences programs. We are internationally recognized in these fields. The main mission of the University of Iceland is twofold; our goal is to be an international research institution and serve Icelandic society.
We organize five-year strategic plans in collaboration with individuals within the university and the outside community. In the previous strategic plan from 2016 to 2021 we highlighted digital teaching and strengthening the teaching environment as part of our main goals. When we entered the COVID-19 period, this turned out to be extremely important. In the new strategic plan, we focus on developing close collaborations across borders to benefit from international know-how.
How successful has the university been in spurring innovation forward in Iceland?
Start-ups based on innovation that began here are now established local flagship companies. For example, food processing company Marel is one of the largest companies in Iceland. Not many people know that it originally came out of the University of Iceland. Additionally, the academic-industrial partnership Carbfix is receiving international recognition. It was initially a collaboration between the University of Iceland, other universities such as Columbia University and University of Toulouse and Reykjavík Energy.
The University of Iceland now runs a science park on campus, which started in 2004. The first company to move in was deCODE Genetics, a cutting-edge research company that we closely collaborate with. The university now has a part of its operations within the deCODE Genetics building. The second company that began operations in the UI Science Park is Alvotech, a biosimilar research company that works with the university on research. It supports a new graduate program in applied biotechnology. A third major player at the park is the computer gaming company CCP Games, which established itself as one of the most innovative companies in global interactive entertainment. We also support many start-ups at the UI Science Park.
Additionally, University of Iceland’s students created an innovation prize called the Golden Egg. It was introduced in 2007 and now runs every year. Many companies have emerged from the competition, and it has opened beyond just student participation to regular society.
What kind of international collaborations is the university involved in?
International collaborations are vital for the University of Iceland. One of our strengths is that most faculty members are educated abroad; they received PhDs from different countries and institutions and bring different influences and points of view to Iceland. Through our faculty members, we have a network of collaborating universities all over the world. We became members of the Aurora University Network established in 2016 by nine outstanding research universities in Europe. The University of Iceland is the smallest university in this network, but the respect we receive from our international collaborators is excellent and is based on our strong operations and academic excellence.We were recently ranked by U-Multirank as being in the top 25 institutions in the world for co-authored research publications, which highlights our great pool of competent experts in many fields. We are always bringing something significant to the table.
Iceland used to be considered on the edge of the world; we were perceived as being on the periphery. However, we now feel close to the center. We have strong collaborations and shared projects in technology, research and development and innovation. Our efforts show that you can achieve important things if you aim high enough. Everyone must make the most of their opportunities. Our job is to create these opportunities for the students, the staff, the university and beyond.