Research and Public Health

The University of the Faroe Islands and Við Tjarnir have agreed to create and run a human performance lab in the new arena.
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Operations of The Human Performance Lab
Equipment, which has been acquired by Vinnuframi and which the university has the access rights to, will be moved from iNOVA, a research centre, to the human performance lab in Við Tjarnir. Furthermore, testing equipment owned by the university will also be moved to the lab. Tracking equipment will also be purchased and set up in the arena, and as new funds are procured, the lab will be equipped further on an ongoing basis.

The University of the Faroe Islands has the right to operate the lab, which can also be used for other research projects and teaching. On behalf of the University of the Faroe Islands, the director of the research group Sport, Exercise and Health is the manager of the lab. The university owns the data collected in connection with research projects, and the university is responsible for processing and storing data according to all current legal regulations. The university and the management of Við Tjarnir will meet every six months to evaluate and, if necessary, adapt the operations of the performance lab. Við Tjarnir will provide facilities that are fit for the lab’s purpose. Both parties can terminate the agreement with one year’s notice.  

A PhD office or a lab office with two to three office stations with all necessary office equipment will be provided in the arena. When the arena opens, two industrial PhD students with a sports studies background move into the arena, which will become their daily workplace. In addition to running the lab, the industrial PhD students will service sports team that use the arena and organize physical training for senior citizens and kindergarteners in Tórshavn Municipality. One of the PhD projects will focus on elite sports and the other on public health. The industrial PhD students are under the leadership of Við Tjarnir’s management, and the director of the research group Sport, Exercise and Health has the academic responsibility of the PhD projects as well as the operations of the performance lab. The industrial PhD students will be matriculated at the PhD school of the University of the Faroe Islands, which provides supervision, courses and administration of the PhD degree. Funds for two PhD students will be acquired every three to four years, and part of these funds will be used for rent.