New leadership chosen

Yesterday, April 29, a meeting of the Student Council of the University of Iceland was held, where the leadership for the next operational year was elected. The new council will formally assume its duties at a handover meeting at the end of May.

Vaka, the association of democratically minded students, increased its majority in the Student Council elections held on April 2 and 3. At yesterday’s meeting, Arent Orri J. Claessen was therefore re-elected as President of the Student Council, which is said to be a rare occurrence according to a statement from the council.

Arent is currently pursuing a master’s degree in law, and he served as chairman of Vaka before becoming President of the Student Council.

At the meeting, Sylvía Martinsdóttir was also elected as Vice-President of the council. She is pursuing a master’s degree in finance. Additionally, Viktor Pétur Finnsson was elected as the Student Council’s Loan Fund Representative; Viktor is studying in the Faculty of Business Administration.

Finally, Valgerður Laufey Guðmundsdóttir was re-elected as the Student Interest Representative of the University of Iceland. She is also pursuing a master’s degree in law.

“I am proud of our work over the past year and grateful for the trust the new Student Council has placed in us, and I look forward to working with the new board. I would like to thank the outgoing Student Council and board for their work, and I promise that we will continue to strive for better conditions for students,” says Arent Orri, President of the Student Council.

Election Meeting April 29th 2025

Elections to the Student Council took place on April 2nd and 3rd, and the election results can be found on our website.

Following the elections, a new Student Council elects its representatives for the Student Council’s rights office, as well as electing other members within the Council. The election meeting will be held on April 29th, 2025, at 17:00 in N-132. 

According to paragraph 9 of the Student Council’s laws, the Council’s meetings are open to all students at the University of Iceland. The meeting takes place in Icelandic.

At the election meeting it is possible to run for President, Vice-President, Student Interest Representative and Student Loan Fund Representative. Also for the Student Council’s standing committees and other positions on behalf of the Council. Those who are elected at the election meeting take office after the exchange meeting, cf. Article 4 of the Student Council’s law. Eligible for election to the Council’s rights office, committees and other positions are all those who have been registered at the University of Iceland in the last three years before the election meeting.

Office Elected at Student Council Office, in accordance with the Council law:

  • The President of the Student Council 
  • Vice-President of the Student Council
  • Student Loan Fund Representative 
  • Student Interest Representative

Committees, in accordance with the Council law:

  • Four representatives are elected for the Finance and Economic Affairs Committee, the International Affairs Committee, the Transportation and Environmental Affairs Committee, the Family Affairs Committee, the Cultural and Social Events Committee and the Amendments Committee. 
  • Two representatives are elected for the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Committee.
  • Five representatives are elected to the Equal Rights Committee, one from each school and those members also sit on the equality committee within each school.

At the election meeting, only newly elected representatives of the Student Council have voting rights. If candidates are more than the number of positions, a proportional vote is necessary. If more than one person is elected in a specific election, the person who receives the most votes wins the position, then the person who comes next, and so on.

Nominations for the positions must be submitted to the chair of the meeting, who is also the President of the Student Council, Arent Orri J. Claessen, before the election meeting at shi@hi.is or at the meeting itself.

Please contact the office of the Student Council at shi@hi.is if you have questions regarding the meeting agenda.

Meeting agenda

  1. Meeting begins
  2. Election of the President of the Student Council (voting)
  3. Election of Vice President of the Student Council (voting)
  4. Election of the Interest Representative of Student Council (voting)
  5. Election of Student Loan Representative of the Student Council (voting)
  6. Nominations for the Student Council’s schools by the organizations (voting)
  7. Nominations for the Student Council’s committees by the organizations (voting)
  8. Election of the Aurora Student council representative (voting)
  9. Election of vice-representatives of the Student Council (voting)
  10. Nominations for the University Assembly by the organizations (voting)
  11. Other issues

Opening hours of buildings over Easter

University of Iceland buildings will be closed from Thursday, April 17th until and including Monday, April 21st due to the Easter holiday, as stated on the university’s website. The Student Council (SHÍ) would like to emphasize that the following buildings are accessible over the weekend with a student card: Askja, Háskólatorg, Gimli, Læknagarður, Lögberg, Oddi, Stakkahlíð, and VR-II.

Happy Easter!

Results of the Student Council Elections 2025

Elections to the Student Council of the University of Iceland took place on the 2nd and 3rd of April. The total voter turnout was 40.25%. The following members were elected to the Student Council:

 

School of Social Sciences

  • Andrea Edda Guðlaugsdóttir (Vaka)
  • Kjartan Leifur Sigurðsson (Vaka)
  • Helga Björg B. Óladóttir (Röskva)
  • Guðrún Brynjólfsdóttir (Vaka)
  • Jón Gnarr (Vaka)

 

School of Health Sciences

  • Eiríkur Kúld Viktorsson (Vaka)
  • Viktoría Tea Vökudóttir (Vaka)
  • Guðlaug Eva Albertsdóttir (Röskva)

 

School of Humanities

  • Helena Guðrún Þórsdóttir (Röskva)
  • Diljá Valsdóttir (Vaka)
  • Viktoria Vdovina (Röskva)

 

School of Education

  • Gunnar Ásgrímsson (Vaka)
  • Halldóra Elín Einarsdóttir (Vaka)
  • Katla Vigdís Vernharðsdóttir (Röskva)

 

School of Engineering and Natural Sciences

  • Sófus Máni Bender (Vaka)
  • Magnús Hallsson (Röskva)
  • María Björk Stefánsdóttir (Röskva)

 

Varamenn:

School of Social Sciences:

Vaka
  1. Andrea Ösp Hanssen
  2. Oliver Einar Nordquist
  3. Elí Tómas Kurtsson
  4. Drífa Lýðsdóttir
Röskva
  1. Valeria Bulatova

School of Health Sciences

Vaka
  1. Kolbrún Sara Haraldsdóttir
  2. Guðlaug Embla Hjartardóttir
Röskva
  1. Stella Hlynsdóttir

School of Humanities

Vaka
  1. Anna Sóley Jónsdóttir
Röskva
  1. Jón Arnar Halldórsson
  2. Jón Karl Ngosanthiah Karlsson

School of Education

Vaka
  1. María Mist Guðmundsdóttir
  2. Birkir Snær Sigurðsson
Röskva
  1. Sigrún Ósk Hreiðarsdóttir

School of Engineering and Natural Sciences

Vaka
  1. Guðný Helga Sæmundsen
Röskva
  1. Karl Ýmir Jóhannesson
  2. Sigurbjörg Rannveig Stefánsdóttir

 

More detailed election results can be found here.