Þórey appointed director of the UI Institute of Research Centres

Þórey S. Þórisdóttir has been appointed director of the UI Institute of Research Centres, selected from a group of six applicants. The Institute will shortly be transferred to the University of Iceland at Hólar, in accordance with the agreement establishing the University of Iceland System, which entered into effect this summer.

Þórey has a BS in business administration, an MS in international trade and marketing and a PhD in business administration, all from the University of Iceland. She has three years’ experience as a manager in retail and over 20 years’ experience of running businesses. In these roles she has acquired broad expertise in budgeting, policy making, human resources and communication.

Þórey has also taught undergraduate and postgraduate students at the UI Faculty of Business Administration for almost a decade, supervised master's students writing their final theses, and taught at Reykjavík University. Alongside her teaching role, she has conducted research, secured grant funding and held positions of responsibility on boards and committees.

“I am excited to take on this new role, learn more about the excellent work that goes on at the research centres all over the country, and collaborate on the challenges ahead,” says Þórey S. Þórisdóttir.

“As I welcome Þórey to her new role, I also celebrate this important step in the development of the UI System. Our aim is to enhance its operations across Iceland and the regional research centres play a key role in that, from a strong base at the headquarters in Skagafjörður. I would like to thank the outgoing director, Sæunn Stefánsdóttir, for her valuable contributions to the Institute. She must take a lot of the credit for making the UI System a reality and also for the Institute’s relocation to Skagafjörður,” says Silja Bára R. Ómarsdóttir, Rector of the University of Iceland.

“Þórey’s appointment is an important step in the continuing development of UI at Hólar and the UI Institute of Research Centres. The relocation of the headquarters and appointment of a full-time director based in Skagafjörður reflects our aim of strengthening UI at Hólar as a specialised regional university as well as raising the visibility and impact of research centres all over the country. Þórey has a wealth of experience in governance, strategic planning, teaching and research and I am convinced that she will lead the Institute with ambition and vision at this exciting time. I wish her a warm welcome to Skagafjörður and I would also like to thank Sæunn Stefánsdóttir for her significant contribution to the development of the Institute,” says Hólmfríður Sveinsdóttir, Dean of the University of Iceland at Hólar.

About the UI Institute of Research Centres

The University of Iceland has operated the Institute of Research Centres for 25 years. It currently includes twelve autonomous regional research centres located across the country. Besides research, they also play a role in educating and supervising postgraduate students. The centres work closely with their local communities, including local municipalities, institutions, businesses, organisations and individuals.

They conduct an incredibly broad range of research, spanning marine and terrestrial ecosystems, tourism, natural sciences, environmental issues and land management, literature, history, folkloristics and archaeology. Two new research centres are also in the planning stages. One, located in Eskifjörður, will focus on educational science while the other, at Hólar, will be dedicated to the Icelandic horse.