The Westfjords Regional Development Agency has published a report on the economic impact of the University Centre of the Westfjords, which is now available online. The report clearly shows that each króna the government puts into the University Centre comes back double in the form added consumption and demand in the Westfjords. The most important factor in this sense is the master's program in coastal and marine management, which is not surprising since most of the students are new inhabitants of the area. The report also takes into account the 4000 overnight stays that the University Centre has organized each year. People in the Westfjords are well aware of the fact that more inhabitants and more tourism, as a result of educational tourism, add to the regional turn over. This is indeed why people in the Westfjords wanted their share of Iceland's university sector.

Earlier this fall the Ministry of Culture and Education did an appraisal of all the research and educational centers around the country. It would be interesting to see what the economic impact of these centers is, in comparison to their funding. If these centers are to have a role in regional development, this must be taken into account, for example by connecting the funding to the economic impact, multiplied with the outmigration index of the last 20 years, multiplied with the distance to the next university.