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27/02/2023 - 14:52

Eimskip University Fund allocates ISK 127.5 million to doctoral students

Eimskip University Fund allocates ISK 127.5 million to doctoral students - Available at University of Iceland

The Board of Directors of Eimskip University Fund (Ice. Háskólasjóður H/f Eimskipafélags Íslands) has announced its intention to allocate ISK 127.5 million in grants to doctoral students at the University of Iceland in 2023.

The Eimskip University Fund was created by expat Icelanders in 1964 who donated their shareholdings in Eimskipafélagið. The Fund was created in memory of Icelanders who emigrated to the US and Canada and its main objective is to support promising students at the University of Iceland. The Fund is managed by Landsbankinn.

While the Board of the Fund determines the amount for allocation each year, grants are awarded by the Board of Directors of the University of Iceland Research Fund.

Total allocation amounts to ISK 1.6 billion

A total of 176 students have received grants from the Fund since regular allocation began in 2006. 

Total allocation from the Fund currently amounts to ISK 1.6 billion, with ISK 500 thereof allocated to the construction of Háskólatorg in 2006 and 2007. 

“The Eimskip University Fund has been of great importance to the University of Iceland. Through its support for doctoral studies at the University, the Fund has both contributed to our growth as a research university and created opportunities for a large group of doctoral candidates to take up diverse tasks and work at many levels of society, both domestically and internationally. Since allocation of the first doctoral scholarships from the Eimskip University Fund in 2006, 175 doctoral candidates from all schools of the University have received support from the Fund. During this period, graduates of doctoral programmes at the University of Iceland have multiplied. In addition, the Eimskip University Fund allocated a handsome sum to the construction of Háskólatorg, the heart of the University, for which we are immensely grateful,” says Jón Atli Benediktsson, Rector of the University of Iceland.

Board of Directors of the Eimskip University Fund. From the left: Vilhelm Már Þorsteinsson, CEO of Eimskip, Lilja B. Einarsdóttir, CEO of Landsbankinn, Jón Atli Benediktsson, Rector and President of the University of Iceland, Helga B. Eiríksdóttir, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Landsbankinn and of the Board of Directors of the Eimskip University Fund, and Vigdís Sif Hrafnkelsdóttir, Managing Director of the Fund and Account Manager in Landsbankinn Asset Management. image/Kristinn Ingvarsson