[mynd 1 h]The last core course of the CMM master’s program is currently underway. The course, which is titled ICZM: Practical Applications and Challenges, is in the form of a workshop where students engage in various challenges of Integrated Coastal Zone Management.

The main project of the course has been a role playing game. There, students have received some assistance from six graduates of the CMM program who took part as stakeholders. Among the graduates that took part was Gísli Halldór Halldórsson who graduated with the first cohort of students in 2010. Gísli Halldór will soon become the mayor of Ísafjarðarbær municipality. It was therefore fitting that he took on the role of mayor during the role play exercise. As is to be expected in a studying environment such as this workshop, student took the role playing game seriously and according to Gísli Halldór he needed to utilize all his diplomatic skills during the negotiations with students in the role of stakeholders.

The current course is an independent sequel of the course ICZM: Introduction and Theory which was taught in September. In these focused ICZM courses a special effort is put on introducing students to methods of ICZM both, ensuring a balance between North American and European approaches. In the current course the emphasis is on Europe (EU in particular) while the course in September focused on North America.

[mynd 2 h]Two instructors teach on the current course and both of them are new in the faculty team of the University Centre. Anne Mette (Germany) is a specialist who works for KMGNE in Berlin. She has specialized in stakeholder communications, sustainability and climate awareness. Among other things, she has taught courses and worked on the issues in Germany and Ecuador. Zoi I. Konstantinou (Greece) has been an active researcher in the field of ICZM. Her PhD was in the field of "Development and utilization of conceptual and numerical models for Integrated Coastal Management (ICM)". Both of them have been at the frontline of large ICZM projects in Europe. One recent project is the Coastal SAF project that was a product of the SPICOSA project.