R&D in Akureyri region

Akureyri region has a long tradition of education and educational institutions. The area is often called the ?school area? because of the numbers of schools and students. These have been growing rapidly for the last few years but especially the University of Akureyri that is the largest university outside the capital area.

 

University of Akureyri (UNAK) operates The Faculty of Natural Resource Sciences. It is designed to prepare its students for employment and graduate studies in a challenging international market.  Its four departments are: Aquaculture, Biotechnology, Fisheries, and Environmental Studies.  Other faculties are Computer science, health services, business and teaching.

The Icelandic Marine Research Institute (MRI) conducts research on the marine environment around Iceland. The MRI has five branch laboratories, where the Akureyri branch is the largest. The MRI cooperates with the University of Akureyri on research and training in fisheries biology and oceanography. Furthermore, students from the university undertake practical training and carry out research projects at the institute.

The Icelandic Fisheries Laboratories (IFL) has operation in Akureyri. IFL joined forces with the University of Akureyri in 1991 where several IFL senior scientists teach courses in cell biology, microbiology, and food microbiology in the Faculty of Natural Science. Students are involved in ongoing research projects at IFL and also may work at the institution as laboratory assistants during summers. This cooperation has enhanced the relations with the food industry in the Eyjafjordur region, mostly by students taking part in experimental work for various firms, under the supervision of research scientists at IFL.

Center of Excellence in Marine Biotechnology has recently started operation. Its aim and goal is to identify opportunities in marine biotechnology and to put those opportunities onto research stage and further production stage.

Cooperation between research institutions and companies in the area is creating a dynamic R&D environment which opens doors to new opportunities for industries in the Akureyri region. Akureyri suits therefore well for operating R&D facilities or research cells in numbers of industries.

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