The collaboration with Iceland was based initially on the exchange of theoretical physicists and through nuclear physicists participating in the CERN physics programme, primarily at ISOLDE as members of universities in Denmark and Norway.

In 1996, a an International Cooperation Agreement between CERN and the Government of Iceland concerning the development of scientific and technical cooperation in the research projects of CERN was signed. In 2004, CERN established direct contact with high-energy particle physicists of the University of Iceland in Reykjavik in order to assist them in their efforts to obtain financial support from their government, so as to establish a sustainable high-energy particle physics community.

Opportunities for Iceland to participate in NorduGrid and the ATLAS Collaboration were identified. Additionally, scientists from the University of Iceland are participating in experiments at ISOLDE on Mossbauer studies of dilute semiconductors. The ATLAS and ISOLDE activities are in conjunction with Norwegian and Danish institutions, respectively.

Moreover, students from Iceland have been participating on a regular basis in the CERN Summer Student Programme.