UW Iceland

25/09/2026

Students in the Coastal and Marine Ecology course went on a field trip to learn how to identify humpback whales in Ísafjarðardjúp. Field trips are a common part of studying at the University of Westfjords, giving students the opportunity to gain hands-on experience and connect what they learn in the classroom with the natural environment.

The course is taught by Dr. Filipa Samarra, a behavioural ecologist whose research focuses on marine mammal behaviour, ecology, and acoustic communication. Through practical experiences like this, students explore marine ecological concepts and gain a deeper understanding of the species and ecosystems around them.

📸 photos by master’s student Eeva-Liisa

22/09/2026

Former President of Iceland Guðni Th. Jóhannesson teaching his students the Viking clap during our course Icelandic Society and Environment earlier this semester.

Video by master’s student Eeva-Liisa Nordheim.

22/09/2026

A good day for a group photo with the first-year master’s students by the harbour

21/09/2026

Last weekend, researchers Matthias Kokorsch and Jóhanna Gísladóttir from the LostToClimate Research Project visited Kjósárrétt in Árneshreppur, Strandir, to observe the annual sheep roundup and sorting. The visit offered a unique opportunity to meet local residents and explore the cultural significance of sheep farming in Iceland's rural communities.

Next Saturday, they will be at the European Researchers' Night (Vísindavaka) in Reykjavík, introducing the project and inviting the public to share their views on the value of sheep and the cultural heritage connected to them.

We look forward to the conversation!

21/09/2026

A new research note by Matthias Kokorsch, Freja Kidal and Jóhanna Gísladóttir presents a practitioner-oriented Build Back Better assessment checklist tailored specifically to small and remote Nordic-Arctic communities.

Build Back Better (BBB) is a central principle of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030, which sees recovery, rehabilitation and reconstruction as opportunities to reduce future disaster risk rather than simply restore pre-disaster conditions.

The Research Note was developed within ARCHAIC – Sustainable and Resilient Communities in Remote Settlements in the Arctic in the Age of Climate Change, funded by NordForsk.

We are also very happy that our CRD student Freja Kidal has joined our project. With her professional background in emergency preparedness and risk management, Freja contributed to the further development of the framework and helped test it from a practitioner perspective.

The research note:https://www.uw.is/static/files/Skráasafn/AA-Timarit/kokorsch-kidal-gisladottir-2026.pdf

News article on our website:
https://www.uw.is/en/news/new-research-note-building-back-better-in-small-and-remote-nordic-arctic-communities

A new Research Note by Matthias Kokorsch, Freja Kidal and Jóhanna Gísladóttir presents a practitioner-oriented Build Back Better assessment checklist ta

21/09/2026

Our Mayor Gylfi Ólafsson taught at UW!

Alongside Morgan Greene, Academic Director, he co-taught the Foundations of Sustainable Coastal Communities course, exploring sustainable development in coastal regions. Students visited companies including Arctic Fish, Kerecis, Ískalk, Orkubú Vestfjarða, and Mjólká Power Plant. Thank you to all the companies for the warm welcome.

Read more about the course on our website

18/09/2026

On September 21st at 13:00, Nathan Parisse will defend his master’s thesis titled “Genetic structure of the seabird tick Ixodes uriae in Atlantic puffin colonies around Iceland”.
Defenses at UW are open to the public and are also accessible through Zoom. The link to the defense can be found here: https://eu01web.zoom.us/j/67008352228

16/09/2026

On September 17th at 13:00, Nicole Drewitz will defend her master’s thesis titled “Is Nordic cloudberry moving with climate change? A transmedia guide to species distribution modelling with MaxEnt”.
Defenses at UW are open to the public and are also accessible through Zoom. The link to the defense can be found here: https://eu01web.zoom.us/j/64506111668

15/09/2026

On September 16th at 15:30, Alex Jones will defend their master’s thesis titled “Rural Change and Post-Capitalist Possibilities: A Case Study of St Mabyn, Cornwall”.
Defenses at UW are open to the public and are also accessible through Zoom. The link to the defense can be found here: https://eu01web.zoom.us/j/66933545675

15/09/2026

On September 16th at 13:00, Sydney Bateman will defend her master’s thesis titled “Harbour Ecology and Bioindicator Potential of the Atlantic Rock Crab (Cancer irroratus) in the Westfjords, Iceland: Distribution, Shell Disease, and Contamination”.
Defenses at UW are open to the public and are also accessible through Zoom. The link to the defense can be found here: https://eu01web.zoom.us/j/69303425853