Introducing research in the Westfjords
On Friday, November 10th, the weekly lunch lecture was held outside the walls of the University Centre of the Westfjords for the first time. The event was held at Blábankinn in Þingeyri, where researchers from the Westfjords gave short lectures about their latest work. The researchers are part of the Westfjords Research Association , which is a group of people who conduct research in the Westfjords and the surrounding area. The speakers were from the University Centre of the Westfjords (UW), the University of Iceland and the Natural Science Institute of the Westfjords.
Catherine Chambers, Research Manager at UW, discussed equality and equity in the fishing industry and presented her research on coastal fishing boats. The two Academic Directors at the UW, Brack Hale and Matthias Kokorsch, also gave a short lecture. Matthias, who is the Academic Director of the Master's program in Coastal Communities and Regional Development, discussed his research on the interaction of place attachment and natural hazards in Iceland. Brack, who is the Academic Director of the master's program Coastal and Marine Management, discussed his research on tourism in the Alps and how it could be replicated in the Westfjords.
From the Natural Science Institute of the Westfjords, Christian Gallo gave a talk about birds in the Westfjords and research on the seabed in relation to fish farming, Anja Nickel gave a talk about how to monitor young cod in Dýrafjörður with small transmitters, and Ingrid Bobekobá discussed markings on birds. Ingrid is a former UW student who graduated in 2022 from Coastal Marine Management. Alex Tyas, PhD student at University of Iceland, discussed underwater archeology and how the community of archaeologists and divers can work together.
The Westfjords Research Association also visited the Elementary School in Þingeyri, where they held a presentation for the children. They were well received and each researcher started with drawing a picture on a blackboard for the children who in turn had to guess the research area of each researcher. The drawings depicted birds, fish, invertebrates and plants to name a few and some were harder to guess than others. The researchers then briefly presented their discipline and research and answered questions from interested students.
After a fun school visit and a well attended Lunch Lecture, the UW staff and the Westfjords Research Association were pleased with the day at Þingeyri.
