This morning 17 American university students flew in to Ísafjörður to participate in a field school by the School for International Training (SIT) in Vermont USA. As a part of their university studies the students will spend spring semester studying in Ísafjörður and other places of Iceland as well as in Greenland.

During the past ten summers the University Centre of the Westfjords and the School for International Training have engaged in a successful collaboration. The Centre has welcomed a new SIT renewable energy field school group each summer. In 2012 the collaboration was extended as homestays were introduced and have been offered to SIT students since.

Last fall a new component was added to the collaboration between the two institutions as SIT set up a new semester long program Iceland and Greenland: Climate Change and the Arctic based in Ísafjörður. This 15-week program is taught on a bachelor level and is offered both during fall and spring semester. Students spend at least four weeks in Ísafjörður, but will also travel around Iceland and visit Greenland for a study trip. The first group to join this field school arrived in Ísafjörður in September after spending two weeks in Greenland. 

With this new fields school two new positions in the field of higher education teaching and research were created in the Westfjords. This semester Jennifer Smith, Coastal and Marine Management master’s program graduate has taken on the role as Program Director, while PhD student Daniel Govoni, is the academic coordinator and lecturer for the group. Both Jennifer and Daniel reside in Ísafjörður.

As stated above the second group to participate in this new SIT field school arrived in Ísafjörður this morning. The students are eagerly waiting to be picked up by their host families this afternoon once the first school day is over. The host family arrangement has proven very successful and the University Centre is very grateful to all the families that have participated and opened their homes to these students.

We welcome the new SIT group to Ísafjörður and look forward to hosting these students during the next few weeks.