Great interest in collaborating with the University of Iceland among Canadian universities

Over the past decades, the University of Iceland has had dynamic collaboration with numerous universities in Canada. Jón Atli Benediktsson, the Rector of the University of Iceland, visited several of these universities this summer. Some have firm ties to Iceland and Icelanders, as they are located in areas with large populations of Western Icelanders.

The Rector visited the University of British Columbia (UBC), which is highly respected by international standards, and is a very large university in a unique environment. 

"Visiting there was a delightful experience, especially since my first visit was 35 years ago. I had a good meeting with UBC's international office, and there is a well-utilized cooperation agreement between the University of Iceland and UBC. Then I met with people in the humanities and linguistics, who are interested in starting Icelandic studies there. There was great interest in increasing mutual collaboration between the University of Iceland and UBC at both meetings."

Jón Atli mentioned several collaborative projects between the two universities, including UI’s projects related to the cultural heritage of Icelandic migrants and their descendants in North America. These focus on strengthening cooperation on international research into the literary and cultural history of Icelandic emigrants.

Strong ties between Iceland and the Icelandic migrants and their descendants

During his trip, Jón Atli also met with Dugan O'Neil, Vice President of Research and Innovation at Simon Fraser University (SFU). O'Neil is also the academic leader of the Surrey campus, which the Rector visited. Jón Atli said there is significant development underway and it was exciting to see the ambition there.

“The visit was excellent. It was very interesting to witness SFU's organization, visit the Surrey buildings and the electrical engineering laboratory, and discuss the future and possible cooperation, especially with regard to the Aurora University Network, which the University of Iceland has led for some time," said the Rector.

There are strong ties between Iceland and people of Icelandic origin living in Vancouver, Canada, and Jón Atli was warmly received everywhere.  He gave a speech at the Icelandic-Canadian Club in British Columbia, where there was great interest in the work of the University of Iceland and its connections with Canadian universities.

Important projects on Western Iceland

The creation of the Western Iceland projects is due to the endowment fund created at the University of Iceland in the name of Stephan G. Stephansson at the opening of Veröld - Vigdís’ house in the spring of 2017. Stephan G. Stephansson's grandson Stephan Benediktson and his wife Adriana Benediktson donated the start-up capital for the fund. Heather Alda Ireland, the granddaughter of the Icelandic-Canadian poet Guttormur J. Guttormsson, and her husband William Ireland (1934-2023) also contributed to the creation of the fund. Other prominent contributors until now are Donald K. Johnson, Arni Thorsteinson, Oskar Sigvaldason, Susan Rodriguez Abbiati, Paul David Benediktson, Stephan Robert Benediktson and Mooréa Gray. During the first stages of the fund raising, the University of Iceland also enjoyed the invaluable assistance of Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, the former President of Iceland.. In addition to the invaluable support of the descendants of Icelandic emigrants for the project, the support of the Icelandic government has also made a significant difference. 

During his trip across the Atlantic, the Rector also visited the Icelandic Embassy in Ottawa, where he, along with Ambassador Hlynur Guðjónsson, presented the Western Project to representatives of Canada's Heritage Ministry. They stressed the University of Iceland's goal of ensuring ongoing research into the literary and cultural heritage of Icelandic emigrants in collaboration with Canadian universities.  This meeting went very well, and the Heritage Ministry representatives showed great interest.