Blogg

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.