Staff changes at the UNU-GEST Programme
Two New Project Managers
Two new projects managers will join the UNU-GEST programme in the autumn: Guðrún Eysteinsdóttir and Védís Ólafsdóttir. Eysteinsdóttir has been involved in higher education administration since 2001, having worked as a Student Advisor at the Icelandic Fulbright Commission, a Project Manager at the Institute of Public Administration and Politics at the University of Iceland, and at the UI School of Education. She holds a BA in Theatre Arts from San Francisco State University (1998) and a Master of Education in Higher Education from Harvard Graduate School of Education (2013). She is currently pursuing a Master of Public Administration degree at the University of Iceland Faculty of Political Science, with an expected completion date in 2019. Védís Ólafsdóttir has worked for the last two years as a Special Assistant to the Director of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in Jordan. Prior to that assignment, she was an Intern at the Icelandic International Development Agency (ICEIDA) in Malawi. In addition, she has worked with children and young people with disabilities and led student trips to China and study abroad programs in Iceland. Ólafsdóttir has a BSc degree in International Business and Politics from the Copenhagen Business School (2009), and a MA degree in Ethnology from the University of Iceland (2012).
Former Staff Members Join the Icelandic MFA
Erla Hlín Hjálmarsdóttir, the Head of Research Development at UNU-GEST since 2015, and Kristjana Sigurbjörnsdóttir, who has been the Studies Programme Manager since 2016, have moved to new posts at the Icelandic Ministry for Foreign Affairs. The UNU-Gest programme has benefitted greatly from their commitment, dedication and enthusiasm during this period. Pétur Waldorff, a Post-doctoral Research Fellow at UNU-GEST and the EDDA Research Center and a UNU-GEST Project Manager, has also taken on a new job at the Icelandic Ministry for Foreign Affairs. The UNU-GEST programme is most grateful for their contribution over the last few years and wishes them best of luck in their new roles.