Innovation Competitions
Innovation - join us!
The University is a sponsor and participant in many events and collaborative projects with companies and institutions aimed at fostering the entrepreneurial spirit and supporting innovation. We encourage you to participate!
The Golden Egg
Reykjavik University is one of the owners of KLAK and a sponsor of the Gulleggsins.
The Golden Egg is a concept-level entrepreneurship competition hosted by KLAK at the start of each year. The competition is open to everyone and is suitable as a first step for students and staff interested in exploring the innovation environment and receiving feedback on their innovation ideas.
The Golden Egg begins in January with an Idea Speed Race for university students and a masterclass course designed to develop an idea and create a presentation that enables everyone to take the next steps. Ten teams are then selected for the final competition of the Golden Egg, which takes place in Gróska's auditorium.
Startup Social
Startup Social is a university accelerator that provides entrepreneurs with the opportunity to develop ideas and work on solutions, products, or projects that are important for the future.
Startup Social is intended for scientists, students and university staff, but the university accelerator is also open to anyone passionate about big ideas.
Participants undergo a concise start-up design process guided by experts and consultants from the academic community, while also connecting with a strong network from the business community.
The accelerator is run in collaboration with MIT DesignX and is based on their methodology. The uniqueness lies in the fact that design thinking is woven into the innovation process, which enables the asking of critical questions and combining the best of the executive-driven business community with research-oriented academia.
Auðna TTO Masterclass
Reykjavik University is one of the owners of Auðnu TTO.
Auðna regularly hosts two to three-day MasterClasses in value creation in collaboration with the owners. During the class, science entrepreneurs, business developers, consultants, experts, and investors present and share their experiences and knowledge. The uniqueness of scientific innovation and the basic elements of value creation from research results are reviewed. Intellectual property rights, financing methods, and agreements are also covered, along with milestones and training for introducing the idea.
AUÐNA's masterclass is well-suited for staff and doctoral students who want to consider the practical application of their research.
Other competitions
The Lighthouse
The Lighthouse is a collaboration between Reykjavik University and Fisheries Iceland and has been held annually since 2015. The competition is open to all RU students across departments in undergraduate and/or master's studies.
The Lighthouse is a competition that aims to solve projects for companies in the fishing industry within three days. Participants present their ideas to a jury and gain access to experts from the fishing industry and other sectors of the business community.
For more information about the lighthouse, please visit the Lighthouse site.
The Square
The Squre is a collaborative project between Reitir and RU. It is an annual idea competition where RU students have the opportunity to work on real projects from Reitir's operations. Participants have the opportunity to solve exciting challenges in the field of real estate and development that are crucial to Icelandic society and the economy. By participating, students gain valuable insight into real estate development and simultaneously strengthen their professional network.
Secondary School Programming Competition
Reykjavik University has hosted the Programming Competition for upper secondary schools for many years, and the demand for the competition has increased year by year, as there is a lot to win. The Upper Secondary School Programming Competition is not only intended for those with previous programming experience, but also for all high school students, including those who have studied programming and those who have not. RU therefore encourages everyone to come and try it out. The competition is divided into three divisions, based on the difficulty level: Alpha, Beta, and Delta.
More information about the high school programming competition can be found here.
Elementary School Innovation Competition
The Elementary School Innovation Competition (NKG) is an idea competition for students in grades 5-7 of primary school. The competition was first held in 1991 and has been held annually since then.
Preparations take place in schools, where students receive instruction on developing projects in their field of interest, from idea to reality. This process activates students' creativity in solution-oriented thinking and increases their self-confidence and initiative.
The owner of NKG is the Ministry of Education and Children, while the School of Education at the University of Iceland is responsible for the operation of the competition in collaboration with Reykjavík University, the Association of Local Authorities in Iceland, Arion Bank, the Federation of Icelandic Industries, ELKO, IKEA, primary schools and other parties.
More information about the Elementary School Innovation Competition can be found here.