University Centre of the Westfjords

The University Centre of the Westfjords (UW) is a partner in the “Máltæknikjarni” project, or "Language Technology Development Initiative" led by the University of Iceland. The project aims to develop accessible, cost-effective, and location-independent methods for language acquisition — including remote learning, testing, and skill certification. Part of this work is directly connected to the Westfjords and UW.

We're pleased to share that the University Centre of the Westfjords (UW), the Municipality of Strandabyggð, and Fine Foods Íslandica ehf. in Hólmavík have received a grant from the European Union amounting to 70,000 euros, to support the implementation of the IceKelp project during the period 2024–2026. The aim is to develop a model for sustainable kelp farming and a blue economy in rural areas. The announcement was published on the website of Strandabyggð.

The Annual General Meeting of UW's Student Housing Association (hses.) for the year 2024 will take place on Friday, May 16, 2025, at 13:00 at the University Centre of the Westfjords.

With Háskólahátið we celebrate the graduation of students from the master’s programmes at the University Centre of the Westfjords, as well as the graduation of distance learning students in the Westfjords.

Easter is just around the corner, and like every year, UW will be taking a short spring break! The building will be closed on Good Friday, April 18, and Saturday, April 19. During these days, the Suðurgata entrance will be locked and access with key cards won’t be available — even the most dedicated students and staff will need to take a well-deserved pause. If something urgent comes up, you can reach us at 844 3148.

It's thesis defense season again at the University Centre of the Westfjords. The first defense starts on Tuesday April 22nd. During this defense season 16 students will defend their theses in the coming weeks with many interesting topics. The defenses are open to the public and people are also invited to join through zoom. The links can be found in the table below.

We’re excited to welcome Rebecca Eriksson to our team as a researcher for the coming year! At the University Centre of the Westfjords, we’re committed to involving our students in meaningful research—and in recent years, we’ve seen a growing number of our master’s students become involved in both national and international research projects.

Tómas Jóhannsson, a specialist in avalanche hazard assessment at the Icelandic Meteorological Office, recently visited the Avalanche Research Center in the Westfjords, bringing with him a car trunk full of journals for the UW library. Tómas is on the editorial board of Jökull, a journal on glaciology, and has for years subscribed to the Journal of Glaciology and Annals of Glaciology. He felt these journals would be best placed where the public could access them, and they will now benefit both students at UW and staff in the building. UW is a member of the University of the Arctic network (UArctic.org), and its academic programs include Climate Change and Global Sustainability as well as a field course on climate change and energy resources. Students in these programs will have a particular interest in these journals.

The University Centre of the Westfjords (UW) has secured a NordForsk grant for the "ARCHAIC" project (Sustainable and Resilient Communities in remote settlements in the Arctic in the Age of Climate Change). The overall objective of the project is to generate new knowledge about current and future climate adaptation and handling of natural hazard events in remote settlements in the Arctic, fostering sustainability and resilience.  Secondary research objectives are to develop new knowledge and solutions related to 1) the climate risk picture and community resilience, 2) early warning systems, 3) relocation from high-risk areas, 4) emergency preparedness and crisis management, and 5) transfer of climate adaptation experience from the Arctic.

The University Centre of the Westfjords (UW) received a generous gift at a recent open house event held in Vestrahús. The gift is an 86” screen called the Maxhub XBoard MTR, which combines a meeting display, Teams Rooms video conferencing equipment, a whiteboard, and wireless connectivity into one device. The donation comes from Þorsteinn Jóhannesson and his wife, Margrét Hreinsdóttir. Þorsteinn Jóhannesson is well known in Ísafjörður as the former chief physician at the regional hospital for nearly 30 years. He has also been active in municipal affairs and, most notably, played a key role in the founding of UW, with his company, Skurðlæknirinn ehf., being one of its founding members.

The University Centre of the Westfjords (UW) has been awarded a highly competitive NordForsk grant for the "LostToClimate" project, which will explore the unavoidable non-economic losses experienced by Arctic communities due to climate change. This collaborative effort brings together scientists and community members from Finland, Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Greenland, Canada, and the United States, including several Indigenous communities, to co-produce knowledge that can inform future adaptation strategies.

At the annual general meeting of the University Centre of the Westfjords last Friday, March 14, 2025, where all the founding members are gathered, UW director announced under other matters his intention to pass the baton during 2025.

Last Friday, UW marked its 20th anniversary with an open house at Vestrahús. Several other institutions in the building also participated in the celebration, which featured a diverse program and exceeded expectations for attendance. The day began with the annual meeting, which is typically held in May, but this time was scheduled closer to UW’s founding date to coincide with the anniversary and integrated with the open house.

The annual meeting of the board and founding members of UW, will be held on Friday March 14th at 13:00. UW is a nonprofit educational institute and the annual meeting is open to guests. Previous years the annual meeting has taken place in May, but on the occasion of UW's 20th anniversary, the board decided to honour the founders with an annual meeting closer to the day UW was founded, March 12th. Founding UW, an higher educational institute was a bold step at that time, given the fact that the number of inhabitants in the Westfjords is only around 7500 people. Since then, UW  has become an active link in Iceland's higher education landscape and a beacon for learning outside the capital area.

The University Centre of the Westfjords (UW) is thrilled to announce that Brianna Marie Cunliffe, a first-year master’s student in the Coastal Communities and Regional Development program, has received a 350,000 ISK research grant from the Icelandic Regional Development Institute. The funding will support her thesis project, titled “Participatory Energy Planning for Resilient Coastal Westfjords Futures.”

We are proud to announce that Christoph Pfülb, a second-year master’s student in the Coastal Communities and Regional Development program at the University Centre of the Westfjords (UW), has received a prestigious research grant from the Icelandic Regional Development Institute. His thesis project, titled "Volunteerism and Emergency Management in Iceland: Examining the Role of Place Attachment and Local Engagement in Search and Rescue and Disaster Relief Organizations", addresses critical aspects of local community resilience in the face of natural hazards and climate change.

The University Centre of the Westfjords (UW) turns 20 years old this year. Twenty years ago, the people in the Westfjords were fighting for many things: paved roads, tunnels, mobile phone service, coastal fishing and shipping, safety, electricity at Christmas, and, yes, a university. No more, no less.

The University Centre of the Westfjords (UW) is delighted to share the news that yet another master’s student has received funding from the Westfjords Development Fund. The fund aims to support cultural projects, business development, and innovation in the Westfjords, and to provide support for start-ups and operating costs to cultural institutions in the Westfjords. Brendan Kirby, a master’s student at UW in the Coastal Communities and Regional Development program, received a 400,000 ISK grant to develop a climbing guide for the Westfjords.

At the turn of the year there will be a new service provider of internet services towards UW. The FS-net, once made for distance learning service centres in the countryside, will cease operations. Instead, the University Centre of the Westfjords now has made an agreement with local Snerpa internet provider.

A new research article, "Invasive species management: The case of pink salmon in Iceland" has been published in the journal Marine Policy. This collaborative study, authored by Hjörleifur Finnsson, Catherine Chambers, and Guðni Guðbergsson (Marine and Freshwater Research Institute), investigates strategies for managing the presence and impact of pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) in Icelandic waters.

The University Centre of the Westfjords (UW) is thrilled to announce that applications for its two unique master’s programs are now open for the upcoming academic year! Whether you’re passionate about community development or the sustainable management of marine resources, these programs offer the opportunity to study the pressing issues facing coastal and marine environments in a dynamic, interdisciplinary setting.

Recently, we at UW were honored to host a visiting group, funded through the Uarctic, Memorial University’s Harris Centre, Global Arctic Leadership Project, Indigenous and Northern Relationships Development Fund, and the Marine Biomass Innovation Project, which is funded by the New Frontiers in Research Fund - Transformation Stream.

The University Centre of the Westfjords (UW) has a new addition to its team. Hjördís Þráinsdóttir started her role as a project manager in a 50% position on November 1st. Originally from Súðavík, Hjördís has lived in Ísafjörður for 25 years. She is married with three sons and has primarily worked as a records manager for the municipality of Ísafjörður since 2008. Hjördís holds a BA in Psychology from the University of Akureyri and is currently pursuing an M.Ed. in Educational Sciences along with a diploma in Special Education from the same university.

Dr. Catherine Chambers, UW’s research manager and project leader for the Jules Verne project, along with project coordinator and UW alumna Alex Tyas, have just returned from a trip to Bayonne, France in association with a Jules Verne grant which supports research collaboration between Icelandic and French partners. Catherine and Alex also gave presentations during the Haizebegi festival that celebrates Basque culture.

Fyrsti stjórnarformaður Háskólaseturs Vestfjarða, Halldór Halldórsson, sagði fyrir tuttugu árum við opnunarhátíð Háskólaseturs Vestfjarða "Nú er hátíðarstund – að nokkrum árum liðnum munum við líta til baka og segja; þetta voru gæfuspor."

I’m Tabea Maria Jacob, a second-year student in the Coastal and Marine Management master’s program at the University Centre of the Westfjords. My academic background is in sociology and psychology, and my research interests bring together both natural and social sciences, particularly in the areas of the Blue Economy, fisheries, social justice, and equity.

Sagan öll – eða það óumflýjanlega óvísindalega í akademískri starfsemi. Háskólasetur Vestfjarða á stórafmæli í ár. Á þeim tuttugu árum hefur margt gerst sem skrifað hefur verið í ársskýrslur og tíundað á vefsíðu, samfélagsmiðlum og Bæjarins Besta. En sumt hefur aldrei verið sagt. Sögur sem ekki þótti þess virði að skrifa niður. Sögur sem eru einum of mannlegar. Það ólýsanlega fyndna í hinni alvarlegu akademísku starfsemi. Sagan sem er ómögulega alvarlega takandi. Undir yfirskriftinni "Sagan öll" tökum við hér saman nokkrar af þeim og það þarf ekki að taka þær alvarlega, það er bara viðeigandi að rifja upp skemmtilegar sögur á afmælishátíðum.

For the past couple of days, our academic director, Matthias Kokorsch, attended the 6th Nordic Ruralities conference in Kiruna. The title of the conference was New paths to sustainable transitions? Apart from the conference theme, the city itself– yet not being coastal– is highly relevant for our program on Coastal Communities and Regional Development, and Matthias left with much inspiration for coming courses. Kiruna is on the Move - The mining town is relocating its entire center to make way for continued mining operations— an ambitious plan stretching to 2100. The move began in 2014 and includes shifting historic buildings, designing a denser, greener, and more sustainable city. Yet, the development is not uncontested. As we learned during the conference, the relocation of Kiruna has faced criticism for prioritizing mining profits over the rights and livelihoods of local Sámi communities, whose reindeer herding lands are heavily impacted. This has sparked debates about green colonialism, as the project highlights the tension between sustainability goals and the exploitation of Indigenous territories for resource extraction.

To start off this term, Tabea and I, together with UW program director Dr. Matthias Kokorsch, attended the GLISFO workshop in Faroe Islands. The workshop is organized by the Research Council of the Faroe Islands, the Icelandic Center for Research, Greenland Research Council, Nordisk Energiforskning & the Icelandic Arctic Cooperation Network, and funded by The Nordic Council of Ministers and the Nordic Council.

Welcome to our “catching up with alumni” series where we introduce you to previous UW students over the years. Ingrid Bobeková is a 32 year old alum who graduated from the Coastal Marine Management master’s program in 2022. Ingrid's hobbies include knitting, surfing, hiking, photography, and bird watching.

Welcome to our “catching up with alumni” series where we introduce you to previous UW students over the years. Isabelle Price is a 25 year old alum who graduated from the Coastal Marine Management master’s program in 2023. Isabelle's hobbies include running, biking, and kayaking.

Welcome to our “catching up with alumni” series where we introduce you to previous UW students over the years. Tyler Wacker is a 33 year old alum who graduated from the Coastal Communities and Regional Development master’s program in 2022. Tyler's hobbies include biking, surfing, and skateboarding.

A year that had mainly challenging news globally, to say the least – it's even more vital to spotlight the good news and achievements. At the University Centre, there were many moments for us that we will keep in good memories. The biggest milestone for UW was the opening of our new student housing this autumn. Witnessing its transformation from an idea to a tangible reality in just over a year was fantastic. Navigating the complexities of such an ambitious undertaking in a remote setting, with its many unpredictabilities, demanded a lot of collaboration, determination, and patience. This wasn't just a construction project; it was coastal community development in practice.

My name is Brittaney Key, and I’m a Fulbright Fellow and master’s student in the Coastal Communities and Regional Development (CRD) program. I chose to come to Iceland for my fellowship specifically because of the CRD program and its unique inclusion of sustainability and development in a rural context.

This spring, from April 28th to May 14th, a group of 8 UW students had the opportunity to participate in a NORDPLUS trip in the Baltic region, where we joined students from universities in Finland, Lithuania, and Latvia to explore “smart shrinking” strategies for regions experiencing population decline.

Nýlega lauk meistaranámskeiðinu Frá auðlindahagkerfi í aðlöðunarhagkerfi: Sjávarbyggðir á tímum afþreyingar og ferðalaga sem Patrick Maher kennir. Í lok námskeiðsins bjuggu nemendur til myndbönd með þeirra sýn á Ísafjörð og nærumhverfið og útkoman urðu stórskemmtilegar stuttmyndir.

Nýlega lauk meistaranámskeiðinu Frá auðlindahagkerfi í aðlöðunarhagkerfi: Sjávarbyggðir á tímum afþreyingar og ferðalaga sem Patrick Maher kennir. Í lok námskeiðsins bjuggu nemendur til myndbönd með þeirra sýn á Ísafjörð og nærumhverfið og útkoman urðu stórskemmtilegar stuttmyndir.

Nýlega lauk meistaranámskeiðinu Frá auðlindahagkerfi í aðlöðunarhagkerfi: Sjávarbyggðir á tímum afþreyingar og ferðalaga sem Patrick Maher kennir. Í lok námskeiðsins bjuggu nemendur til myndbönd með þeirra sýn á Ísafjörð og nærumhverfið og útkoman urðu stórskemmtilegar stuttmyndir.

Hello we are Hannah and Linda, two students from southern Germany. We are studying Public Administration at the University of Applied Sciences in Kehl. As part of our studies we are doing a three month long internship at the University Centre in Ísafjörður.