UW's annual general meeting
Regarding personnel changes in 2023 at UW, project manager Sigthrúður Margrét Gunnsteinsdóttir resigned at the end of August 2023. In her place, Bjarney Ingibjörg Gunnlaugdóttir was hired as project manager from 01.09.2023 in a 50% position. Academic Director of Coastal Marine Management, dr. Brack Hale, formerly dean at Franklin University of Switzerland, started on 01.01.2023. There were also changes at reception, Ester Sturludóttir started on 01.01.2023 in a 50% position. The position was increased to 75% after UW's sutdent housing entered into an agreement with UW for a reception for the student housing from 01.09.2023. The marketing and web manager at UW for many years, Ingi Björn Guðnason, at his own request, went on unpaid leave for one year from the summer of 2022. For his replacement for one year, the position was divided between two candidates, each of whom had 50% of the position, Ingibjörg Rósa Björnsdóttir and Hanna Lára Jóhannsdóttir. Ingi Björn decided not to return to the position and Hanna Lára Jóhannsdóttir was hired full time.
The annual report states that the number of students in the fall of 2023 is 71 students enrolled in two master's programs in two cohorts according to UNAK enrollment data. 31 students have graduated in the calendar year 2023 from the master's programs at UW, and the total number of students graduated in the fall of 2023 has reached 243. For the master's program, a special annual report for UNAK is prepared, which is considerably more extensive than UW's annual report as a whole, as the program is a very extensive part of UW. The structure of the master's program is unchanged from last year, as is the collaboration with UNAK, which stands on a solid foundation.
There are many innovations in education and they consist of new teaching methods and field trips related to the study at any time. One that stands out is the Field School sponsored by Nordplus, in collaboration with universities in the Baltic countries, Sweden and Finland, which gives a mixed group of students in Regional Studies an annual opportunity to learn about the methods and limitations of regional planning in the Nordic countries. In 2023 it was held in the Baltic countries, but in 2024 UW is the organizer of the field school here in Iceland. We wrote about the UW summer school on our website here and here.
Promotional issues are particularly important for a small institution in a remote location. Since the old website was based on an outdated system, a decision was made to have a new website designed, and in 2023 a lot of work went into discussing the website's setup, web tree and content. The website went live at the end of August, but we acknowledge that websites are an ongoing project, and that is also the case at UW.
Regarding distance learning, the report states that the number of students is similar to previous years, around 90 people in the Westfjords, but people are taking fewer exams per exam site, even though the total number of exams take, has not changed.
At UW, there are still no research positions and UW is not defined as a research institute. However, students' essays and the research activity of guest lecturers are more valuable year by year. Over 243 final theses have been made in the two master's programs Coastal and Marine Management (since 2008) and Coastal Communities and Regional Development (since 2019).
Below, in bold, you can see the publication of scientific articles since May 2023 by UW staff, students, researchers and instructors:
Brawn, Caitlin, Bonnie M. Hamilton, Matthew S. Savoca,
Birkir Bardarson, Jesse C. Vermaire, Jennifer
Provencher. 2023. Suspected anthropogenic
microparticle ingestion by Icelandic capelin. Marine
Pollution Bulletin,Volume 196.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.115551.
Carroll, J., Þórisson B., Gallo, C., Méndez V. 2023. Effect of
habitat and resource use on reproductive success of
Eurasian Oystercatchers Haematopus ostralegus
breeding in Iceland. International Wader Study Group
130:1. https://doi.org/10.18194/ws.00299
Gómez, S., Patraca, B., Zoghbi, J., Ariza, E., Wilke, M.,
Smaradóttir, S., Einarsson, N., Huijbens, E., Chambers.
C. (2024). Exploring social media as a tool for
disentangling cultural ecosystem service values of whale
watching to inform environmental judgments and
ethics: The case of Húsavík, Iceland. Journal of
Ecotourism.
Kebir, Z., Chambers, C., Frainier, A., Hausner, V., Lennert,
A.E., Lento, J., Poste, A., Ravolainen, V., Renner,
A.H.H., Thomas, D.N., & Waylen, K. (2023) Fifteen
research needs for understanding climate change
impacts on ecosystems and society in the Norwegian
High North. Ambio https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-023-
01882-9
Kokorsch, M., Gísladóttir, J. “You talk of threat, but we think
of comfort”: the role of place attachment in small
remote communities in Iceland that experience
avalanche threat. Reg Environ Change 23, 150 (2023).
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10113-023-02144-w
Kristjánsson, Ó.G., 2023. “Gefum íslensku séns – Tilraun til
samfélagslegrar vitundarvakningar í íslensku samfélagi”
https://islenskan.is/wp-
content/uploads/2023/11/Malfregnir32-maimalthing-
16_november2023.pdf
Lebedef, E.A., Chambers, C. (2023). Youth and newcomers in
Icelandic fisheries: opportunities and
obstacles. Maritime Studies 22,
34 https://doi.org/10.1007/s40152-023-00326-0
Sühring, N., Catherine Chambers, Torben Koenigk, Tim Kruschke, Nie
ls Einarsson & A. E. J. Ogilvie (2023) Effects of storms
on fisheries and aquaculture: An Icelandic case study on
climate change adaptation, Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine
Research, 55:1, DOI: 10.1080/15230430.2023.2269689
Projects in progress or completed in the period between May 2023 to May 2024:
ClicNord, Kokorsch, NordForsk
reMERci, Weiss, Fondation de France
Basque, Chambers, Creative Europe
SeaGirls, Chambers, Uppbygginarsjóður
Carbon, Chambers, Culture Moves Europe
Small-boat energy transitions, Chambers,
Orkurannsóknarsjóður Landsvirkjun
Víslenska, Chambers, Þróunarsjóður innflytjendamála