On Saturday, September 20th, the Icelandic Basque Centre was formally opened with a celebratory ceremony. The Centre is located in Djúpavík in Strandir and is a collaborative project of the Icelandic-Basque Association, Albaola in Spain, Haizebegi in France, Hotel Djúpavík, and the University Centre of the Westfjords. It tells the story of the Basques and their interactions with Icelanders. The Basques were present in Iceland for whaling for several years, most famously when they suffered a shipwreck while whaling in Reykjafjörður in 1615.

The course Coastal and Marine Management: Theory and Tools is starting today at UW.

The course People and the Sea: Geographocal Perspectives, starts at UW tomorrow.

For the University Centre's 20th anniversary, we reached out to some of our alumni and asked each of them three questions: What is your current position or job? What part of your studies at UW best prepared you for your current role or career? And what is your favourite memory from your time at UW? Their responses were featured in our 20-year anniversary report.

After a busy summer at the University Centre of the Westfjords, autumn has arrived with all its usual hustle and bustle. Master’s students in Coastal and Marine Management and Coastal Communities and Regional Development have been on site for just over a week, and their studies are already in full swing. But that doesn’t mean we aren’t welcoming guests as well—two field school groups from SIT (School for International Training) are currently studying at the University Centre.

Master's thesis defenses by students at the University Centre of the Westfjords are still in full swing. The defenses began on September 1 and will conclude on September 22. By then, 18 students will have presented and defended their master's theses. As usual, the topics are highly interesting and diverse. The defenses are open to the public and take place at the University Centre. It is also possible to follow them on Zoom, and the links can be found in the table below.

Students who began their master’s studies in Coastal and Marine Management and Coastal Communities and Regional Development at the University Centre of the Westfjords in August, along with master’s students from SIT (School of International Training), were recently invited on a new-student trip to help the group get to know one another. The academic directors of both master’s programs, Brack Hale and Randall Morgan Green, joined the group, as well as Jill Welter, the SIT group instructor, and Íris Hrund Halldórsdóttir, who taught the University Centre master’s students during their first week.

All students engaged in university-level studies can make use of the facilities at the University Centre of the Westfjords to pursue their studies and take exams.

Today marks the official launch of two major research projects for which the University Centre of the Westfjords received grants last winter. Both projects are funded by the NordForsk Sustainable Development of the Arctic programme. Dr. Matthias Kokorsch, who is now on leave from his work as Academic Director of the Master’s in Coastal Communities and Regional Development, will lead the projects as Research Specialist and Project Leader. He joined an international consortium as a co-applicant and successfully secured the grants on behalf of UW through a very competitive process.

The course Regional transformation and development: Sociological theories and practises, is starting today at UW.