Reykjavík University and the Icelandic Coast Guard have signed an agreement to collaborate with the aim of enhancing the performance of Coast Guard personnel in operations and exercises. The project will be led by the research centre PAPESH (Physical Activity, Physical Education, Health and Sport), which is part of the Department of Sports Sciences at RU.

The project will be under the auspices of the research center PAPESH (Physical Activity, Physical Education, Health and Sport), which is a part of the Department of Sport Science at RU and aims to improve research in the field of sport science and apply it for the benefit of Icelandic society.

Georg Kr. Lárusson, Director General of the Icelandic Coast Guard, says that it is particularly important to have the opportunity to work with experts at Reykjavík University to strengthen operations.

"We at RU are very pleased with this collaboration with the Coast Guard. We are constantly looking for ways to strengthen our ties with the various institutions of society and the economy. We also want our research to have a broad appeal and impact, and to benefit the society of which RU is a part, as we hope this research will."

An interdisciplinary team with expertise in sport science, physiology, skills training and psychology will supervise the PhD student working on the project.

Hafrún Kristjánsdóttir, department chair of the Department of Sport Science:

"We are excited about the collaboration. The Coast Guard employees perform important work under very demanding conditions that test both physical and mental strength. We are used to helping athletes maximize performance, health and well-being, and now we will partly use the same methods in our work with the Coast Guard's employees. It will be a multidisciplinary and international team that will be involved in the collaboration under the leadership of Professor Hugh Fullagar who has extensive experience of working with responders and special operations teams around the world."

PhD students can now apply for the project