Akureyri voices in 20 Arctic Circle sessions

Researchers based on the University of Akureyri (UNAK) campus will take part in twenty sessions at the Arctic Circle Assembly in Harpa, Reykjavík, on 8–10 October. University of Akureyri staff speaks in 13 of them and co-organise 5. Twenty students from UNAK are volunteering at the event which hosts over 2000 participants from around the world.

“Akureyri is home to a remarkable concentration of Arctic expertise. The Stefansson Arctic Institute and other faculty collaborate with our partners on campus, including IASC, the Arctic Council Working Groups CAFF and PAME, the Icelandic Tourism Research Centre and the Icelandic Arctic Cooperation Network. We contribute research and knowledge that can inform policymaking and strengthen Arctic cooperation. The Arctic Circle provides an important venue for connecting that expertise with those shaping the future of the region," says Áslaug Ásgeirsdóttir, Rector of the University of Akureyri.

Carrying evidence from the North to Arctic policy

The Arctic Centre sessions at this year’s Assembly span the Arctic's key issues: biodiversity and wetlands, health, glaciers and ocean circulation, shipping, geopolitics, inequality, tourism, gender equality, research careers, and preparations for the fifth International Polar Year. The common thread is bringing evidence from the North to the people who make Arctic policy.

The campus at Sólborg and Borgir, Akureyri, is home to the Arctic Centre of Iceland, a cluster of national and international Arctic organisations. Alongside the representatives from UNAK and the Stefansson Arctic Institute, members of the International Arctic Science Committee (IASC), the Arctic Council working groups PAME and CAFF, and the Icelandic Arctic Cooperation Network are participating in various sessions. Together, these contributions show how much of Iceland's Arctic expertise is gathered on one campus.

From the Stefansson Arctic Institute at the University of Akureyri , four members of staff contribute to the programme; Romain Chuffart speaks in five sessions, on governance, geopolitics, research careers, and Iceland–Japan cooperation. Joan Nymand Larsen speaks on inequality and tourism. Jón Haukur Ingimundarson speaks about Arctic communities and social sustainability, and Karl Karlsson speaks on One Health governance.

Three more members of staff from UNAK are on the programme; Tom Barry co-organises and speaks in three sessions, on biodiversity, wetlands, and glacier governance. Steingrímur Jónsson joins a session on whether the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) is nearing a point of no return, and Sara Fusco discusses climate breakdown, fear, and cooperation.

From the Arctic Centre, Gerlis Fugmann of IASC joins four sessions on the International Polar Year and Arctic research priorities, and Hjalti Hreinsson of PAME joins two on Arctic shipping. For CAFF, Snorri Sigurdsson speaks on the Arctic Biodiversity Summit 2027 and Kári Fannar Lárusson on Irish and Icelandic wetlands.

Come and meet our people

^{Helga Guðrún from the Stefansson Arctic Institute and Rachael, research manager at UNAK will greet you warmly} 

During the Arctic Circle Assembly, the University of Akureyri,the Icelandic Arctic Cooperation Network, and IASC will also have stands in the exhibition area. UNAK will have an information booth where participants can learn more about the university’s research and teaching on pressing Arctic affairs, including the Stefansson Arctic Institute and the unique Polar Law masters programme.

Click here to see sessions with participants from UNAK

Click here to view the full programme on the Arctic Circle.