RU Department of Sport Science continues collaboration with KKÍ and KSÍ

The Department of Sport Science at Reykjavik University has been busy this summer signing agreements with various sports federations and companies in Iceland, including the Icelandic Basketball Federation (KKÍ) and the Football Association of Iceland (KSÍ).

Collaboration with KKÍ

The RU Department of Sport Science and KKÍ signed an agreement on continued collaboration at the end of June. The two organizations have been collaborating since 2017.

The agreement provides for KKÍ to pay the tuition fees of a master's student in sport science at RU for two years. The student will conduct assessments of Iceland's youth national teams with the assistance of undergraduate students, under the supervision of staff from the Department of Sport Science. The student will also undertake an internship with KKÍ, which will include, among other things, developing and disseminating educational materials on sports psychology for the basketball community.

Ásthildur Olsen was selected from among the applicants. She completed a BA degree in psychology from the University of Akureyri last spring. This August, she will begin a degree in sport science at RU, specializing in sports psychology. Ásthildur has extensive experience in basketball, both as a player and a coach.

Agreement with KSÍ for the next two academic years

The RU Department of Sport Science also signed an agreement with KSÍ to continue their collaboration on assessments of Iceland's men's and women's youth national teams. RU and KSÍ have been collaborating in this area since the fall of 2016, creating numerous opportunities for students to participate in projects related to Icelandic football.

Under the agreement, KSÍ commits to paying half of the undergraduate tuition fees for two master's students for two academic years. At the same time, the Department of Sport Science commits to offering the two students master's-level study at undergraduate tuition rates. As with the KKÍ agreement, the students will undertake internships with the football association and work on educational materials for the football community, while also participating in projects related to Iceland's youth national teams.

The two students are Birgitta Hallgrímsdóttir and Gunnar Einarsson, both of whom have extensive experience with a variety of football-related projects. They have also both completed BS degrees in sport science—Birgitta from RU and Gunnar from the University of Iceland.

New collaboration with Total Tempo

At the same time, a collaboration agreement was signed with Total Tempo, an Icelandic technology company specializing in the use of technology in football training through smart cones and rebound devices that return the ball after it is kicked.

This is a new collaboration under which Total Tempo will pay the tuition fees for two students, sports scientists Kristófer Heimisson and Tristan Ezekiel Baldursson, both from RU. They will work on research projects for Total Tempo while also completing internships there.

The subject matter of the research projects is still being developed, but it will focus on how the use of Total Tempo equipment affects players' technical ability, decision-making, and training intensity.