Í síðustu viku bauðst bæði nemendum í Heimskautarétti við Háskólann á Akureyri og skiptinemum í hagfræðilegri þróun, sama skóla, að heimsækja norðausturhornið með skipulagðri vettvangsverð. Nemendur heimsóttu m.a. Bakkafjörð, Raufarhöfn og Húsavík og fræddust um vísindasamstarf og náttúrurannsóknir, uppbyggingu ferðaþjónustu á jaðarsvæðum, verkefni tengd brothættum byggðum, og ýmis tækifæri á sviði nýsköpunar, orku, sjálfbærni og loftslagsmála.

Háskólinn á Akureyri í samstarfi við SSNE stóðu fyrir ferðinni og þakkar öllum gestgjöfum og fyrirlesurum fyrir góðar móttökur.

Hópurinn við heimskautsgerðið á Raufarhöfn

Nokkrir nemendur lýsa upplifun sinni af vettvangsferðinni:

"The trip hosted by SSNE and Háskólinn á Akureyri was wholly relevant to my studies in Polar Law. The focus on the "Fragile Communities" was pointed in that many small communities located in the Arctic suffer these same discrepancies. The efforts made by SSNE to think outside the box and welcome input towards building resilience in these communities was refreshing. I believe these real life examples help students to expand their perspectives beyond the theoretical aspects learned in the classroom". - KK Davis

"We really enjoyed the trip and learned so much! The challenge of creating of job opportunities in remote locations has never been that obvious to me. Talking to SSNE employees gave us insights into future plans for some of these areas and many other fields as for example having an environmentally friendly industry park. This is something we can learn from and build our future on." - Felicia Bahr

 "It was a wonderful experience and I'm really glad I came. Everything was perfect: the people we met were all super nice, the food was delicious and all our discussions were very interesting. One topic that really caught my interest was the situation of small fishing towns in decline. We have the same challenge in France, with small towns in the countryside being deserted as there is no more school, no more doctors and no more shops. Learning about what could possibly be done to revitalize the economy and bringing life back to these communities was very inspiring and gave me a new perspective on that issue." - Jordane Liebeaux

"For me the highlight of the trip was being able to meet a diverse range of people living in the NorthEast region of Iceland and hearing their stories and points of view on the challenges they face. Everyone had a different story and perspective which helped understand the multifaceted issue of economics in the region. Whether we talk about depopulation, the loss of economic activities, tourism, diversification of the economy, this rural Icelandic region can be considered an example of the issues affecting other Arctic and northern sub-arctic regions. The impacts of globalisation, education, and climate change can all be witnessed in these communities." - Angharad Downes

"As a tourism student from another university in Europe, I found the talks about tourism in remote areas in Raufarhöfn really interesting, and it gave me another perspective on tourism in remote areas and smaller towns, and is very relevant to my current and future studies of tourism." - Nanna Brunnstrøm Jensen

 "Awareness and focus on sustainable eco-tourism development is the way forward, and I hope the northeast of Iceland will manage, even though the region is challenged with regards to human capital and the need for greater infrastructure. If SSNE is working with projects where student participation is needed, I would be happy to hear more about this." - Julie Madsen

"This trip has completely confirmed all my expectations regarding Iceland and my studies in Polar Law. The topics we were presented with gave us a deep insight into some of the obstacles and problems that the municipalities of the northeast must deal with every single day – and learning about the SSNE and the efforts of the local people to develop the region, especially the remote part of it, really made me think about how important it is for Icelandic people to support their land." -Eleni Kontostathi

 Hópurinn í heimsókn hjá Silju, verkefnastjóra SSNE á Húsavík.