March 2018 Fareham UK, Kopavogur Iceland – Lilja Alfreðsdóttir, the Minister of Education, Science and Culture in Iceland announced the winners of the 2018 Icelandic Fisheries Bursary Awards at a ceremony held at the Iceland Ocean Cluster, Reykjavik yesterday, Tuesday 20 March 2018.

The two winners, both students at the Icelandic College of Fisheries, were awarded ISK 500,000 towards their respective courses. The first winner, Þórunni Eydísi Hraundal, 22, is studying Quality Control within the fishing sector and the second winner Herborg Þorláksdóttir, 56, is studying towards her qualification as a Processing Technician with MAREL.

Marianne Rasmussen-Coulling, events director at Mercator Media, announced at the awards ceremony that the organizers of the Icelandic Fisheries Exhibition 2020 has decided to extend the Icelandic Fisheries Bursary Awards for two more years.

Lilja Alfreðsdóttir, the Minister of Education, Science and Culture, added “It‘s an honour to present the 2018 Icelandic Fisheries Bursary Awards, especially as they inspire students to strive for excellence and that is a marvellous thing. It is very important to encourage students to succeed and consequently help make the Icelandic fishing and processing industry become a global leader in modern and innovative fisheries techniques. Many new jobs have been created in the seafood industry over the past few years because of research, technological development and innovation, and we will always take notice of the best in that field when we are setting the future course in education and science.“

Marianne Rasmussen-Coulling– Events Director, Mercator Media said “As organisers of the Icelandic Fisheries Exhibition we recognise the importance of continued innovation and the development of the fisheries and seafood industry in Iceland. We believe that the best way to achieve this is through continued training and education of the younger generation. We have received very positive feedback from the two 2017 winners and it gives us great pleasure, in 2018, to be able to again support two new highly presentable and promising students of Icelandic College of Fisheries. We hope that these grants will not only benefit them but the whole sector in the years ahead. We are also delighted announce that the bursaries will be granted for two more years so the Icelandic Fisheries Bursary Awards will live on and continue to invest in the future of the fishing sector in Iceland.”

2017 winner, Hallgrímur Jónsson added “The Icelandic Fisheries Bursary of ISK 500,000 towards my studies, was a very welcomed, positive boost. This helped me finish my qualification as Marel Fish Technician at Grindavik Technical college and secure my new job at Samherji Fiskeldi as a quality manager”

Herborg Þorláksdóttir, winner of the 2018 Icelandic Fisheries Bursary Awards said “It is a privilege to receive the 2018 Icelandic Fisheries Bursary Awards and is also an important financial support for me personally. I had decided to quit my studies because I thought I wouldn’t be able to pay for them but the awards change that completely, and I‘m really proud and grateful.”

Þórunn Eydís Hraundal, winner of the 2018 Icelandic Fisheries Bursary Awards also added “The awards will help to educate me further in the Icelandic fishing and processing industry and are a positive and unexpected recognition for me and my hard work in my studies. They also strengthen my intention of studying marine and fishery science at the University of Akureyri when I finish my education at the Icelandic College of Fisheries.“

The applications were assessed by a specialist judging panel from the industry, including Ólafur Jón Arnbjörnsson, Headmaster of Grindavik Fisheries College; Sigurjón Elíasson, Global Learning and Development Manager at Marel; Guðbergur Rúnarsson, Engineer and Manager at Fisheries Iceland; Örn Pálsson, Board Executive, National Association of Small Boat Owners; and Bjarni Þór Jónsson, Icelandic representative for Mercator Media/The Icelandic Fisheries Exhibition.

Established in the port of Grindavík in 2010, the Icelandic College of Fisheries purpose is to meet the current requirements of the fishing and processing industry by producing suitably trained staff. The college offers training for deck crews, fishing vessel deckhands and shore-based industries in aquaculture and fish processing.

Fishing gear technology apprenticeships are also offered in association with the Suðurnes Comprehensive College in Reykjanesbær. The original basic courses have since been augmented with more in-depth courses of specialised study, and it is these that the IceFish bursary is specifically focused on.

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If you would like to sponsor, exhibit or attend IceFish 2020, please contact the events team on +44 1329 825335 or email icefish@icefish.is.