The Faculty of Food and Nutrition at the University of Iceland and Matís have entered into an agreement between them on continued collaboration in the field of teaching and research. Inga Þórsdóttir, President of the School of Health Sciences, University of Iceland, and Sveinn Margeirsson, CEO of Matís, signed the agreement yesterday. The agreement ensures continued collaboration on developing and improving studies in food and nutrition at the University of Iceland. The agreement further strengthens the strong collaboration between the University of Iceland and Matís.
The main points of the agreement between the Faculty of Food and Nutrition and Matís are:
- Ensure an acceptable number of students in food and nutrition at the University of Iceland.
- Develop and improve studies in food and nutrition at the University of Iceland and thus ensure professional uniqueness in order to attract students and scholars on an international level.
- Collaborate on more projects that link the disciplines of food science, food safety, biotechnology and nutrition. We will continue to work together on the development of equipment, databases and other infrastructure.
- Students can work on research and development projects under the guidance of Matís staff under the supervision of permanent teachers or visiting professors from the Faculty of Food and Nutrition and in accordance with the University of Iceland's rules on the qualifications of supervisors.
From left: Sigrún Mjöll Halldórsdóttir, project manager at Matís, Sveinn Margeirsson, CEO of Matís, Guðjón Þorkelsson, president of the Faculty of Food and Nutrition and division manager at Matís, Inga Þórsdóttir, president of the School of Health Sciences and
Þórhallur Ingi Halldórsson, professor at the Faculty of Food and Nutrition.
The Faculty of Food and Nutrition and Matís have had a good collaboration on teaching for a long time, but Matís' employees have traditionally taught at the faculty. The collaboration has now increased even further as two Matís employees have been given a permanent position at the Faculty of Food and Nutrition at the University of Iceland and one employee of the faculty has been given a permanent position at Matís.
- Björn Viðar Aðalbjörnsson, a specialist at Matís, has held the position of 20% Adjunct Professor at the Faculty of Food and Nutrition since 1 January 2015.
- Sigrún Mjöll Halldórsdóttir, project manager at Matís, will hold the position of Adjunct Professor at the Faculty of Food and Nutrition from 1 January 2016.
- Alfons Ramel, professor at the Faculty of Food and Nutrition, will hold the position of specialist at Matís 20% as of January 1, 2016.
Matís is a leader in Iceland in research in the field of food production and food safety. Matís' policy is to strengthen the competitiveness of Icelandic products and the economy, improve public health, ensure food security and sustainable use of the environment through research, innovation and services in the fields of food, biotechnology and genetic engineering. In order to implement its policy, it is necessary for Matís to work in collaboration with the University of Iceland on teaching and training students.
The Faculty of Food and Nutrition is one of the most powerful units of the University of Iceland in research facilities for each full-time equivalent of teachers. The faculty strives to be at the forefront with high-quality research and teaching that can be compared on an international level. The collaboration with Matís supports these goals. There is also a strong emphasis on collaboration with institutions and companies such as Matís in the University of Iceland's policy.
Further information is provided by Inga Þórsdóttir and Sveinn Margeirsson.