UCL signs agreement with Iceland

UCL has signed a new agreement with the Icelandic Government to help support a permanent lectureship in Icelandic Language and Literature.

The agreement - initially for a three-year period and worth £13,000 per year - was signed by UCL's Provost and President, Professor Malcolm Grant, and the Icelandic Ambassador, Mr Sverrir Haukur Gunnlaugsson, on 31 August 2005.

Since 1989, the Icelandic Government have made a substantial contribution to the costs of the UCL Halldor Laxness Lecturer in Icelandic Language and Literature post. Up until now the post was on a fixed-term basis but it will become permanent in September 2005, with Dr Daisy Neijmann continuing in the role. Negotiations between UCL and the Icelandic Government were led by Dr Tom Lundskær-Nielsen (Scandinavian Studies) and Dr Anna Clark, Business Development Manager for Arts & Humanities.

UCL is unique in having the only modern Icelandic degree course, outside of Iceland, in Western Europe. The course, based in the UCL Department of Scandinavian Studies, encompasses language, literature, history and linguistics and includes a year spent at the University of Iceland in Reykjavik.

Image: Dr Tom Lundskær-Nielsen, Professor Malcolm Grant and Mr Sverrir Haukur Gunnlaugsson

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Links:

• Department of Scandinavian Studies