President's Letter
Facing the challenge of the future
Ragnhildur Helgadóttir, President of Reykjavik University
Reykjavík University is blessed with an outstanding group of faculty and students. I was fortunate to enter a fine academic community when I became rector in the autumn of 2021. My main task this past winter was to restore the activity of the University back to normal after the worst bouts of the pandemic. The students of RU have, throughout the pandemic, been offered courses of the highest calibre despite very difficult circumstances. Most students received instruction on site when permissible, and much effort went into keeping research work going. We have also done much to resume our international relations, both in studies as well as research, and to strengthen still further the ties of RU to the community and business, especially start-up companies. The University placed prime emphasis on the inner functions of the school during the pandemic. There has therefore been much need to open windows and reach out to the outside world. This has all gone well, our core activity is flourishing and the University is everywhere met with goodwill and has never been better.
It is a great challenge for me as rector to build on the foundation of the University already laid over the past quarter century ever since its establishment in 1998. The task is to ensure that the University will continue to develop in step with rapid changes in the needs of the surrounding community at the threshold of a new era. Not only am I referring to the revolution in technology and the business environment in this country but also to our challenge as an academic community to lead our students and our community with initiative and courage in a world influenced by climate change, threats to democracy and war. For this purpose, we need an outstanding faculty dedicated to tackling difficult issues as well as a diverse group of students for whom we provide a fertile ground of education and research backed by our co-operation with Confederation of Icelandic Employers, the Confederation of Icelandic Industries and the Chamber of Commerce of Iceland.
Reykjavík University is a student-oriented university where the key challenge is to prepare students for the future. At the same time, students are encouraged to become active participants in their own studies. The University is a leader in research in those areas where it operates. In many instances, it also plays a leading role in the larger community, as can be seen from the number of references to scientists of the University in international, peer-reviewed journals, where the University is a leader amongst schools on the Times Higher Education list. A fertile research environment does much to forge a robust link between students and the business community. We place great emphasis on importing knowledge into the country that does not exist here, and the international relationship of the University is therefore deeper and stronger than most places elsewhere. This mixture makes RU one of the best young universities of the world (Young Universities Ranking) according to the Times Higher Education list, where it is in 53rd place amongst 750 universities that have been in existence for 50 years or less.
We are proud of the achievements of our faculty and students, and we pledge to continue our improvements to turn out able graduates for business and industry. The future is both uncertain and exciting for us at Reykjavík University, and we feel very comfortable at the crossroads of education, community and business where we have placed ourselves from the beginning. It is not without reason that we use the slogan “We are RU” in our introductory literature, because surveys show that the students here strongly identified themselves with the University. The public faith in us has also never been higher, according to surveys. This is all due to the effort of our faculty and the students, for all of whom I am truly thankful.
Ragnhildur Helgadóttir
President of Reykjavik University
