Today, 11 November, marks 60 years since the founding of the scholarship fund Háskólasjóður hf. Eimskipafélags Íslands. The Fund was created in memory of Icelandic emigrants to the USA and Canada who participated in establishing the shipping company Eimskipafélagið.
Since regular allocations began, 199 PhD students at the University of Iceland (UI) have received grants from the Fund. The total allocation from the Fund currently amounts to ISK 1.8 billion, with ISK 500 million of this allocated to the construction of the UI’s Háskólatorg (University Centre) in 2006 and 2007. The Fund is Iceland’s largest endowment fund.
"The Háskólasjóður Eimskipafélagsins fund opened a new chapter in the funding of doctoral studies in Iceland. Allocation of PhD grants from the Fund began in 2006 and was a game-changer for research-based learning at UI, enabling the school to emphasise research and innovation more. The number of doctoral graduates multiplied, and UI’s measurable success in research and innovation grew significantly, contributing to the domestic economy and community. This change ushered in an era where UI came into its own as a thriving research university. I would also like to mention the Fund’s important contribution to the construction of Háskólatorg, the University Centre. Háskólatorg marked improvement to the main campus, providing a central meeting point that was previously lacking. Háskólatorg is now the heart of our campus, and it is impossible to imagine UI without it," said Jón Atli Benediktsson, Rector of the University of Iceland.
Grettir Eggertsson was the visionary who worked to create the Fund in memory of Icelandic emigrants to the USA and Canada who participated in establishing the shipping company Eimskipafélagið. Grettir’s father, Árni Eggertsson, was among the Icelandic emigrants most involved in establishing Eimskipafélagið in 1914. In light of changing times and conditions, Grettir proposed that all share capital of Icelandic emigrants in Eimskipafélagið should be repatriated to Iceland to support the company’s operation and as a charitable fund. He chose to contribute “to the success of the University of Iceland, and to support promising students at the University in accordance with the decision of the University Council”, so the charter of the Fund, confirmed by the President of Iceland on 11 November 1964. This purpose led to the naming of the Fund, Háskólasjóður hf. Eimskipafélag Íslands.