Embracing Diversity

The Equality Plan for the University of Akureyri for the years 2025–2028 was approved by the University Council at the end of November 2024 and by the Directorate of Equality on December 11th.

The university's Equal Rights Committee led the work. Its role is to initiate and oversee the university's equality plan in collaboration with the administration. Sæunn Gísladóttir, a specialist at the University of Akureyri Research Centre, works for the committee.

Hildur Friðriksdóttir, chair of the Equal Rights Committee, explained that during the preparation and consultation process, the growing diversity within the university was a key focus. "Today, around 18% of the academic staff come from international backgrounds, which is delightful as it reflects the university’s appeal to outstanding staff from around the world. We collaborated with IRPA Consulting, which guided us through workshops, extensive consultations, and helped us structure the plan."

The plan is accessible on unak.is in both Icelandic and English. In the near future, it will be widely introduced, and a dashboard will be set up on the internal website, allowing progress to be tracked.