RU’s Department of Sport Science and HSÍ celebrate ten years of partnership with new agreement

Reykjavik University’s Department of Sport Science and the Icelandic Handball Association (HSÍ) have signed an agreement to continue their collaboration for the next two years. Under the agreement, a student and RU will conduct a comprehensive research project related to Iceland’s women’s national handball teams. The student will be responsible for conducting physical assessments of the players.

The partnership between RU and HSÍ dates back to the autumn of 2016, marking ten years since it began. Throughout this time, the collaboration has involved students conducting detailed measurements of the men’s and women’s youth national teams.

A partnership that has delivered significant benefits

“The collaboration has demonstrated the power of a coordinated effort between RU and HSÍ. The data and lessons learned each year contribute to improved training and innovation in Icelandic handball. At RU, we are convinced that through this partnership, we are laying a solid foundation for the future success of Icelandic handball,” says Dr. Sveinn Þorgeirsson, Associate Professor at RU’s Department of Sport Science.

There is similarly strong satisfaction with the partnership within HSÍ.

“The collaboration between HSÍ and RU has been tremendously important for the development and professional work surrounding the national teams over the past ten years. Regular assessments of national team players, particularly younger players, have provided us with important and useful information about their physical condition, progress, and development over time.

In addition to the assessments, our collaboration with RU has been important for numerous other projects. At HSÍ, we greatly value this long-standing partnership and believe it has delivered significant benefits for the national team program, particularly in the development of younger national team players,” says Jón Gunnlaugur Viggósson, HSÍ’s Sports Director.

Stefán Óli receives scholarship

The agreement stipulates that HSÍ will provide Stefán Óli Hallgrímsson, a master’s student in sport science at RU, with a scholarship covering basic tuition fees for two academic years, from the autumn semester of 2026 through the spring semester of 2028.

HSÍ also undertakes to accept Stefán Óli for an unpaid internship during this period and assign him an appropriate project within the association under the supervision of an HSÍ employee. His internship at HSÍ will be equivalent to 10 ECTS credits.

RU’s Department of Sport Science, in turn, undertakes to offer Stefán Óli a master’s degree program under the same financial terms as an undergraduate program.