History of Bifröst University

The University builds on a 100-year tradition of business and management education.

The history of Bifröst University began in 1918, when the Cooperative College (Samvinnuskólinn) was founded in Reykjavík. In August 1918, the board of the Federation of Icelandic Cooperative Societies (SÍS) resolved to establish a school for members of the cooperative movement, and the school began operations in December of that year.

Jónas Jónsson from Hrifla was appointed the school’s first headmaster. He defined the school’s mission as the training of leaders, using Ruskin College, Oxford, where he himself had studied, as a model.

In the summer of 1955, the school moved to Bifröst in the Borgarfjörður region of West Iceland, where it operated for decades as a residential educational community. The move marked a major turning point in the school’s history. Guðmundur Sveinsson became rector, while Jónas Jónsson retired at the age of seventy. During the following years, the school expanded steadily, and the educational community at Bifröst gradually developed around it.

The university occupies land that previously belonged to a farm called Hreðavatn. Sigurlaug Daníelsdóttir and Kristján Gestsson lived at Hreðavatn from 1913 until 1949, when Kristján died in an accident. One of their six sons, Þórður, had taken over the farm by the time the school moved from Reykjavík. Initially, the Federation of Icelandic Cooperative Societies leased the land from the family. On 1 December 1985, Sigurlaug and Kristján’s children generously donated the land at Bifröst to the school in memory of their parents.

The university occupies land that previously belonged to a farm called Hreðavatn. Sigurlaug Daníelsdóttir and Kristján Gestsson lived at Hreðavatn from 1913 until 1949, when Kristján died in an accident. One of their six sons, Þórður, had taken over the farm by the time the school moved from Reykjavík. Initially, the Federation of Icelandic Cooperative Societies leased the land from the family. On 1 December 1985, Sigurlaug and Kristján’s children generously donated the land at Bifröst to the school in memory of their parents.

In 1987, a memorial plaque honouring Sigurlaug and Kristján was erected on a lava pillar near the driveway to the original school building. The plaque, shaped like a birch leaf, reads: “In memory of Sigurlaug Daníelsdóttir and Kristján Gestsson from Hreðavatn. With thanks from the members of the Icelandic cooperative movement for the land at Bifröst on which the Cooperative College stands.”

The Cooperative College changed its name to the Cooperative University in 1988, to the Bifröst School of Business in 2000, and finally to Bifröst University in 2006. These changes reflect the significant development of higher education in Iceland over recent decades.

Until 1990, the school operated as a division of the Federation of Icelandic Cooperative Societies and primarily served as a training institution for Federation employees. Following the dissolution of the Federation, Bifröst became an independent university attracting students from across Icelandic society.

Historically, Bifröst offered shorter secondary-level programmes lasting only a few months. Today, the university’s strongest enrolment is in its undergraduate and postgraduate degree programmes within its three academic faculties: Business, Law and Social Sciences. In keeping with its long-standing tradition of educating future leaders, Bifröst also continues to offer preparatory studies for mature students who have professional experience but do not hold an Icelandic matriculation examination. Since 2003, the university has also offered master’s degree programmes.

Business education and social affairs have been central to the university from the beginning, and Bifröst has long been regarded as progressive and innovative in its educational methods.

Over the past two decades, Bifröst University has increasingly focused on flexible teaching methods and the integration of digital technology and online communication into teaching and learning. This development has gradually transformed the university from a traditional residential campus model into a primarily distance-learning university offering flexible online study combined with intensive in-person sessions held at locations in Iceland.

Today, Bifröst University is a well-established higher education institution in Iceland, recognised for its emphasis on flexible learning, digital education and close student support. The university offers high-quality education in business, law and the social sciences, preparing students for positions of responsibility and leadership both in Iceland and internationally.

Headmasters and rectors since the founding of the University

Ólína Kjerúlf Þorvarðardóttir 2026 -

Margrét Jónsdóttir Njarðvík 2020 - 2026

Vilhjálmur Egilsson 2013 - 2020

Bryndís Hlöðversdóttir 2011 -2013

Magnús Árni Magnússon 2010 -2011

Ágúst Einarsson, from 2007 - 2010

Runólfur Ágústsson 1999 - 2006

Jónas Guðmundsson 1995 - 1999

Vésteinn Benediktsson 1991 - 1995

Jón Sigurðsson 1981 - 1991

Haukur Ingibergsson 1974 - 1981

Guðmundur Sveinsson 1955 - 1974

Jónas Jónsson 1918 - 1955