The program is 90 ECTS and takes three terms, full-time. In most cases it begins in the autumn term. Flexibility on this is possible in collaboration with instructors and with the Master’s  program committee approval. The program is organised as 45 ECTS in courses and 45 ECTS in the form of a practical innovation project. Students are asked to note that the workload per week for each ECTS is expected to be about 25-30 hours.

At the beginning of the program, each student is appointed two personal advisors: one from the Innovation Centre and an academic advisor. It is possible to swap instructors in co-operation with all stakeholders, if the focus of the innovation project changes. The student creates a teaching schedule with the advisors and the University Centre Director of Education and Teaching. Each schedule takes previous education and the student’s innovation idea into account. At the same time, the schedule must ensure all learning outcomes are met. The Director of Education and Teaching supervises the teaching schedules and ensures they are followed. The Master’s program committee must approve all teaching schedules, and changes made to them.

No compulsory core courses in the program are anticipated, as students will have diverse backgrounds, student numbers will be low and the group will be marked by the number of very different innovation project ideas. At least 15 ECTS must be courses in the student’s professional sphere of interest and are available locally at the University Centre, through University of Akureyri and/or through the network of public universities in Iceland. At least 15 ECTS must be courses in innovation/entrepreneurship and business, available for distance learning at the University of Akureyri, locally at the University Centre and/or through the network of public universities. Rough drafts of personalised teaching schedules should be compiled before study starts, but will be reviewed at the end of each semester in accordance with the learning progress and the development of the innovation project.

Courses and teaching schedules should aim to increase knowledge, skills and the student's ability to successfully tackle their innovation project. Generally, the student does not need to take the same sort of courses he/she may have taken at the undergraduate level or through other studies. If a student wishes to have an external course assessed for inclusion in the program, it must be at a master’s level or equivalent, and must meet the learning outcomes of the study and cannot be part of a degree the student has already graduated from.

Upon graduation, students are well prepared to bring their own ideas into practice, either through starting new companies or within existing businesses. The training that students receive in the program can also be used in a wide range of companies and institutions, for example in various project management. The program is good preparation for the constantly changing labour market which demands independent work and imagination.

The Master’s program committee shall adopt detailed rules for the evaluation of courses and learning plans, including evaluation of courses taken at a bachelor level.

Students graduate from the University of Akureyri with a master’s degree (90 ECTS) in Marine Innovation.