The halls of the University Centre are abuzz with enthusiasm and excitement these days with every classroom occupied and a diverse assemblage of teachers spreading their wisdom.

The new master's program in Regional Development started this autumn with Dr. Matthias Kokorsch, the recently hired new program director, leading the way as the instructor for the semesters first course. Also starting this week is the course, “Sociology of Regional Development” which is taught by Professor Þóroddur Bjarnason from the University of Akureyri.

Our classic master's program in Coastal and Marine Management continues to run its course as always with the course “Coastal Ecology” starting this week.

Also, the Vermont-based School for International Training has signed a contract last year with the University Centre to run a SIT master's program titled “Climate Change and Global Sustainability” in Ísafjörður. The first course in this program introduces students to different scientific methods used in climate change related research. Both teachers, Dr. Jill Welter and María Maack, taught this course last year and Dr. Welter has taken on the role of program coordinator.

The SIT semester program,”Iceland: Climate Change and the Arctic”, coordinated by Dan Govoni, M.Sc., also commenced this week. This program is familiar to many town residents as SIT students have the privilege of being offered housing with local families during their stay here in Ísafjörður.

In addition to this the final Icelandic course of the year came to an end last week. This summer the University offered four courses ranging from beginners’ courses to advanced courses with over sixty students in attendance.

The University Centre is pulsating with life and gone are the days when there was only one program with one teacher at a time. Such a broad array of courses, students and teachers makes student life here at UW a lot more interesting, providing a platform for academic life that parallels that of some of the bigger universities around the country.

The numbers of students could indeed be higher, the new program in Regional Development attracted six students this first year, but now that the programs have come into being and the next step will be to let them grow and flourish.