| University of Akureyri | |
|---|---|
| Háskólinn á Akureyri | |
| Established | September 5, 1987 |
| Type | Public |
| Chancellor | Stefán B. Sigurðsson |
| Admin. staff | ca. 300 |
| Students | ca. 1,400 (August 2007) |
| Undergraduates | ca. 1,100 (August 2007) |
| Postgraduates | ca. 300 (August 2007) |
| Location | Akureyri, Iceland |
| Colors | Red |
| Nickname | HA |
| Website | http://www.unak.is/ |
The University of Akureyri (Háskólinn á Akureyri) is a young institution, founded on September 5, 1987 in the city of Akureyri in the north part of Iceland. It has grown since then, especially in the last few years as more facilities have been established. 1,382 students attended the university in the autumn semester of 2007, around 450 of them doing so through distance education, making the university the largest provider of distance education in the country. Also, the enrollment at the University of Akureyri makes up 9% of the entire university enrollment in Iceland.
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In 1988, the library was officially added to the school. Two months after the library was added, the Student Center opened. The first class to graduate graduated in 1989, and consisted of 10 industrial management students. On January 4, 1990, the Faculty of Fisheries was established. The first master's degree students graduated February 26, 2000. These students pursued a master's degree in nursing. A new chancellor took over from Þorsteinn Gunnarsson in the 1.st of July 2009. His name is Stefán B. Sigurðsson.
Since autumn 2006, the university has the following faculties:
* On 1 August, 2008, the faculty of law and social science has been merged with the faculty of education to form a faculty of humanities and social sciences (Hug- og Félagsvísindadeild). However, in this merger will be in the semester 2008-9 only merg in the name.
The University of Akureyri has five goals they would like to accomplish between 2007 and 2011.
The university would like for 70% of its students to graduate in 5 years. Also, the university plans to have 80% of the students satisfied with their education by 2011.
To accomplish this goal, the university plans to have, by 2011, 60% of its teachers will have a doctoral degree. It also plans to have 150 students involved in research-related postgraduate study. By 2011, the University of Akureyri plans to have 50% of its budget devoted to research.
The university believes that a university should share its research with the community. They plan to take into account the knowledge needs of the community, and wish to provide a mutual share of research between the themselves and the community.
By the end of 2011, the University of Akureyri plans to triple the number of international cooperative projects that it is involved in. Also, it plans to teach at least three postgraduate programs in English.
The university plans to increase its enrollment to 2000 students and to be more financially independent by the end of 2011.
Most research is done by academic members of the staff in the university's Research and Development Center. In addition, there are four other research institutes:
Staff members are encouraged to publish their research. Three books are out that are written by staff members. They are Andas Arfur (Educational Heritage), Lexia (Dyslexia), and Leitin Lifandi (Will to Know).
Each year the school receives more exchange students. These students come through one of four exchange programs:
Students can come as guest students. This occurs when a student attends the university for a short period of time, but there is no formal co-operation between universities. Not only do students travel, but so do teachers. Through the Erasmus program, teachers have traveled to co-operating universities and given lectures. This exchange of teachers has taken place in many countries including: the United Kingdom, Denmark, Latvia, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Austria, Belgium, and France.
University of Akureyri and University of Iceland is cooperating with RES - The School for Renewable Energy Science, a international graduate school located in Akureyri. The school is a higher education institution offering a one-year M.Sc. in various renewable energy technologies. All instructions and correspondence are in English.
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