Jón Atli Benediktsson, Rector of the University of Iceland, sent the following message to University staff and students today (4 February 2022):
"Dear students and colleagues,
One of the main goals of the University of Iceland is to support creative thinking which leads to exploitable ideas. These ideas might develop into companies, creating jobs and advancing our society. An innovative environment is built on a strong foundation of teaching and research at the University, as well as our creative partnerships with industry, not least through the UI Science Park. It is particularly gratifying, then, that the final of this year's annual Golden Egg innovation competition will be taking place today in the heart of the Science Park, the Gróska Business Growth Centre. The Golden Egg is the biggest entrepreneurial competition in Iceland and former entries include ideas that have developed into successful companies such as Controlant, Meniga, Genki Instruments, Pay Analytics and GeoSilica.
Today, the ideas of ten entrepreneurs will be judged and the winner will be awarded this year's Golden Egg. Students at UI have made a significant impact in recent years in the field of innovation, and the Golden Egg competition can trace its origins to the University. UI students founded Innovit, which started the competition in 2008. Over the years, our students have submitted strong entries to the competition as well as being involved with in managing the event. UI has been among the sponsors of the Golden Egg from the very beginning.
The new UI Strategy places emphasis on ensuring that our students become work-ready graduates. We are always developing study programmes and teaching methods, as well as supporting students to pursue innovation and find employment, in order to equip them for a diverse range of new careers in a world of rapid change and technological progress. The University cultivates fruitful partnerships with industry and the community, better preparing our students to tackle complex future challenges. Today sees the end of this year's UI Career Days, focused on preparing our students to enter the job market. Although the event is over, many lectures and other material are still accessible online.
Tomorrow, the UI Design Competition will be held for the 30th time in the University Cinema. The competition is organised by our industrial engineering and mechanical engineering students. The competition will be open to spectators within the limits permitted by current public health restrictions. Competitors will be asked to use their ingenuity to create an innovative machine capable of solving a specialised course of complex tasks. The machine will have to proceed around the course under its own steam and without human input. We will also be streaming the FIRST LEGO League Iceland, which will focus on robotics. Students from ten Icelandic compulsory schools will compete to design and program an entry. Judges usually look for teamwork, creative thinking and originality. The teams have all built their own robots from Lego bricks and the robots will have to solve an international obstacle course of complex and exciting tasks.
Both these events will be taking place as part of UTmessan. Don't miss them, because the entrepreneurs of the future will undoubtedly be among the competitors!
This week I held an information meeting for UI staff to go over the main news from the past month, including the plan for moving the School of Education and other important operations to the recently acquired Saga building by Hagatorg. Today is the School of Education Assembly, which will take place online and focus on the process of transferring operations into Saga.
Saga is a large and impressive building, around 18,000 square metres in total. Various UI operations will take up about 70% of the building, while the rest will be used by Icelandic Student Services to provide around 110 new student apartments. Development will prioritise respecting the appearance and history of the building and establishing a vibrant and diverse environment that attracts staff, students and visitors from the community.
The new Icelandic Studies Building, which will be ready by the end of summer 2023, will free up space in Árnagarður, providing an opportunity to comprehensively review the use of UI buildings, in particular to consider the best places on campus for teaching facilities.
The trust and creative collaboration between UI and Landspítali University Hospital is an essential part of developing a strong and successful healthcare system here in Iceland. Runólfur Pálsson, professor and deputy head of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Iceland, and chief executive of clinical services at Landspítali University Hospital, was earlier this week appointed CEO of Landspítali University Hospital for the next five years. Runólfur has been among the scientists and doctors on the front line of this pandemic, serving as head of the COVID outpatient centre. I offer him my heartfelt congratulations on his new job.
Dear students and colleagues,
The weekend is almost upon us. Let's make the most of it, as we continue to take precautions against infection and help protect our community.
Jón Atli Benediktsson, Rector"