NORTH Consulting was founded in 2009 as an innovation consultancy and a training company for the cultural, innovation and educational sectors. NORTH supports organizations in realizing their potential, creating policies, developing training programmes, curricula and learning materials. We work with different entities involved in educational, cultural, entrepreneurial and research activities in dif
ferent sectors. Our focus areas for the last few years have been on education for sustainable development (ESD), entrepreneurship, democratic citizenship and youth participation in decision-making. We also work with municipalities in creating and implementing education policies, planning and implementing training activities and support to teachers, particularly on ESD, global citizenship, inclusion and entrepreneurship. We have also worked on several skills formation and competence building activities and contribute regularly to international surveys on different educational topics. Our involvement in different projects and activities has allowed us to build up a strong network of people active in the education, culture and innovation sectors, both in Iceland and across Europe. (the team)
We are a small team of education, culture and innovation enthusiasts who love contributing to making learning fun and accessible for all and ensuring that creativity and curiosity is fostered from an early age and nurtured throughout life. Currently we are two full time employees but we work with a number of experts on different projects on a contractual basis. Maria Kristin Gylfadottir ([email protected]) is the General Manager of NORTH Consulting which she originally founded in 2009 and has been fully operational since 2018. Maria has an MA degree in German and European politics from Georgetown University and an MBA degree from the University of Iceland. She has for 20 years worked within the research, innovation, culture and education sectors with positions at Reykjavik University (2000-2003), The Research Liaison Office of the University of Iceland (2003-2009), The European Commission in Brussels (2009-2013, The Icelandic Center for Research, where she managed the Erasmus+ National Agency (RANNIS) (2013-2017) and now NORTH. Maria was a vice councilor in the Municipality of Hafnarfjordur (2006-2010) and served on municipal committees on climate and environment, family affairs and education, and the President of the National Parent Association in Iceland (2004-2008). Maria currently manages a team of three Icelandic universities and the National Association of Culture Creative Industries, in establishing a new research and competence development center for the CCIs in Iceland. Maria is an expert in entrepreneurship education with focus on social and cultural entrepreneurship, qualifications systems and skills development, sustainability, democratic citizenship methods, participatory learning and harvesting, curricula development strategy planning, project management, team building. Andrea Rose Cheatham Kasper([email protected]) Andrea recently returned to Iceland with her family after spending the last eight years in the USA. Andrea has an EdD in Educational Leadership and her dissertation focused on the construct of entrepreneurial orientation as it applies to education. She has been teaching and working in education for over 25 years, most recently as Head of School & CEO of an independent school in Connecticut. She has lived in a total of five countries and has a breadth of experience as an immigrant, a language learner, dancer and teacher in different cultural contexts. Her passion for education stems from her desire to change common and traditional teaching practices and assure that new methods engage students, keep them active, help them take charge of their own learning and are supported by educational research. She is committed to developing educators and leaders as authentic, compassionate and thoughtful actors in their classrooms, schools and communities. Andrea supports strategic thinking through mission and vision workshops, board and professional relations, leadership development, and fundraising and development.