University of Iceland and Reykjavík University open office in Brussels

On 29 September, Reykjavík University (RU) and the University of Iceland (UI) signed a cooperation agreement to establish a university office in Brussels. Ragnhildur Helgadóttir, President of Reykjavík University, and Silja Bára Ómarsdóttir, Rector of the University of Iceland, signed the agreement in Brussels.

The office’s main tasks will include increasing the universities’ international visibility and improving their ability to secure funding through European Union research and innovation programmes.

“Most Nordic universities already have a presence in Brussels, and we believe it is important to join this group and be present where policy decisions concerning matters of vital importance to us are being made,” said Silja Bára R. Ómarsdóttir, Rector of the University of Iceland.

The office will have one staff member. In 2024, the two universities received a grant of ISK 40 million from the Ministry of Culture, Innovation and Higher Education for the project. The cooperation agreement describes the role of the office as follows:

“The main objective of the University Office in Brussels (HSB) is to strengthen the support system for Icelandic universities in their efforts to secure funding from European competitive funding programmes in the fields of research and education, and to increase their visibility and influence internationally. The project is jointly prepared and led by the University of Iceland and Reykjavík University, while other Icelandic universities will be invited to participate in the initiative in return for a modest contribution towards operating and staffing costs. In preparing the project, examples from other Nordic universities have been considered. These universities have had positive experiences with such operations and consider them to have contributed to their improved success in securing funding from European competitive programmes.”