Áslaug Ásgeirsdóttir has taken over the position of Rector

Áslaug Ásgeirsdóttir has formally taken over the position of Rector of the University of Akureyri. “I anticipate the future with real enthusiasm and, in particular, I eagerly await getting to know the staff and students of the University. Continuing the expansion and progress already under way at the University of Akureyri is certainly a matter of high expectations, since various exciting projects are already being conducted at the University, for example regarding housing and accommodation, as well as continued discussions with the University of Bifröst”, Áslaug says, who is currently preparing to settle down in Akureyri. “For many years, I have lived in a small city in Maine, USA and I am looking forward to moving to Akureyri and becoming acquainted with the way of life in this town, whose neighbourhood has rich and varied cultural connections to offer, as well as an attractive and accessible natural environment.”

Eyjólfur Guðmundsson now takes leave of the University of Akureyri after ten successful years as Rector. His career at the University is considerably longer, however, as he was employed at the University from 1999 until he took up the position of chief economist at CCP in 2007. Then Eyjólfur assumed the position of Rector of the University of Akureyri 1 July 2014. “The University has now reached maturity as an academic institution. Doctoral studies, increased research and the transfer of knowledge to all Icelandic communities will be the principal role of the university in the nearest future and in this respect Artificial Intelligence (AI) will be of utmost consequence. It is the most important task of the universities to prepare the country as a whole for the far-reaching revolution that awaits us as a result of the introduction of AI in all spheres of society. It will, therefore, be of more significance now than ever before that the University of Akureyri become the centre of gravity in research and development, particularly in communities outside the area of the capital,” said Eyjólfur Guðmundsson in his address at Háskólahátíð, the graduation ceremony of UNAK (assisted by AI), as he looked back over the years gone by.

“I wish to express my gratitude for our co-operation during the past decade and I should like to emphasise to the staff and students of the University the fundamental necessity of tackling undaunted the challenges of the future, guided by optimism”.