Leah Shamlian is an UW alum who recently won the Tom McKnight & Joan Clemons Paper Award for her master’s thesis. The award was presented at the annual Association for Pacific Coast Geographers Conference, and it is given to outstanding papers. The committee, which is made up of 5 to 7 faculty from a variety of universities and colleges, looks for an overall knowledge of the topic presented, the promise shown when the student presents, and their response to questions. The award was created by Tom McKnight and Joan Clomens.

Emma Dexter, a UW student in the Coastal Communities and Regional Development master’s program at UW, is currently conducting a nationwide survey in Iceland as a part of her master’s project. The survey measures place attachment, climate change awareness, and risk perception for people living in Iceland. The findings will help inform sustainable development strategies on a local and national scale and suggest how individuals’ perceptions might be better integrated into these plans.

UW has a visitor this week from a researcher conducting field work in Ísafjörður for his master’s thesis. Matei Filip Popescu is a 26-year-old master’s student in the Environment and Natural Resources program at the University of Iceland. He has been staying at UW, where he uses the remote working office to conduct interviews with locals. His thesis adviser is Dr. David Cook, who is an instructor at UW and adjunct lecturer at the University of Iceland. It is through his connection to UW that Matei came here to us. His master’s thesis is on the social acceptance of green ammonia for maritime uses in Ísafjörður. He is conducting interviews with local institutions, businesses, and members of the community to understand and consider a broad spectrum of opinions, worries, or excitements about the idea of developing a green ammonia hub in Ísafjörður for maritime use.

Today was the last day of the two week-master’s course “Talking Science: A Practical Guide to Creative Science Communication.” The course was taught from February 5th to February 16th by Jenny Rock, instructor at UW, and it is part of the master’s program as an elective course for both Coastal Marine Management and Coastal Communities and Regional Development. The course is about communicating scientific content within academia and more importantly, beyond academia. Students learn creative ways to communicate research in various contexts. The course is a hands-on workshop and draws from a range of fields to help students communicate about diverse science and social issues.

A longstanding feature at the University Centre are regular public lectures, called ‘Vísindaport’. They are 45 minute lunch lectures on Fridays, held at the University Centre, and are usually short introductions to varied research projects, followed by an informal discussion session. Below you can see the upcoming lunch lectures in February and March:

UW was honored to receive the Jules Verne grant, which is a fund that supports scholarly exchange between Icelandic and French institutions. The grant is led by UW research manager Dr. Catherine Chambers and Dr. Denis Laborde, ethnologist at the French National Institute of Scientific Research. The project aims to explore the value of the shared Icelandic-Basque maritime cultural heritage as a tool for sustainable community development, and is connected to the larger BASQUE project underway in Djúpavík.

A year that had mainly challenging news globally, to say the least – it's even more vital to spotlight the good news and achievements. At the University Centre, there were many moments for us that we will keep in good memories. The biggest milestone for UW was the opening of our new student housing this autumn. Witnessing its transformation from an idea to a tangible reality in just over a year was fantastic. Navigating the complexities of such an ambitious undertaking in a remote setting, with its many unpredictabilities, demanded a lot of collaboration, determination, and patience. This wasn't just a construction project; it was coastal community development in practice.

Emma Dexter, an UW student in the Coastal Communities and Regional Development master’s program, has received a grant from the Regional Development Agency of Iceland for her final project. She has received ISK 330.000 to research the place attachment of people who live in areas at risk from natural disasters in Iceland. She will also explore people's awareness of climate change and their assessment of disaster risk. In addition, she wants to know whether there are differences in these factors between places depending on whether people live in areas with a risk of natural disasters or not. She will do this by conducting a national survey in Iceland.

Three UW students have received a grant from “Hafsjó af Hugmyndir” for their thesis work. Hafsjór af Hugmyndum is an innovation grant for university students organised by Sjávarútvegklasi Vestfjarðar in collaboration with Vestfjarðastofa. The grant is intended for undergraduate or graduate students at an Icelandic university for a final project whose goal is to create increased value from marine products or to promote business life in the Westfjords.