Jóhann Sigurjónsson, director of the Marine Research Institute and longtime board member of UW, has been appointed a Special Commissioner of Marine Issues for the Icelandic government. The commissioner’s role is to coordinate projects related to marine issues in four different ministries in Iceland and to lead a consultation platform for these ministries. In addition to this he will take part in international projects and oversee strategic planning of marine related issues for the government.

Jóhann Sigurjónsson was a member of the UW board, on behalf of Icelandic research institutes, from its founding days in 2005 until 2013 when he took on the role of an auxiliary member of the board. It has been invaluable for UW to have such an expert in marine research on the board, especially when the master’s program in Coastal and Marine Management was in its development stages. Icelandic Research Institutes appoint one member of the UW board and these seats have been shared by the Marine Research Institute and the Icelandic Meteorological Office since the founding of UW. These two national institutes, which also have branches in the UW building, are related to UW’s basic elements in multifarious ways and have been good supporting parties for UW.