Month: November 2025

We all know the feeling: standing in line at Stúdentakjallari, full of anticipation for an ice-cold drink… and then, just as it’s your turn, you realize your student card is sitting in your jacket at home.

The days of plastic cards and forgotten pockets are over – because now your student ID goes straight into your phone’s Wallet.

Note that we need to confirm your student status before issuing your card, so it may take a little time to receive it. That’s why it’s important to sign up as soon as possible so you don’t run into any trouble later.

We launched the digital student ID last year and it was a huge success. But we listened to your feedback and made it even better this time: no app, no hassle – just your card ready in your phone whenever you need it.

All you need to do is sign up here, and your student ID will follow you wherever you go – always ready to show and use.

Here you can check out the discounts available.

Today, on November 10th 2025, Parliament is set to vote on the proposed Housing Lease Bill. If passed, it will lead to an increase in rent for student housing. Why? Because the bill makes it illegal to raise rent during the first 12 months of a lease agreement.

This decision is positive in itself, and predictability is important for tenants on the general rental market. But students are not on the general rental market — they live in student housing operated by non-profit institutions such as the Student Welfare Foundation (Félagsstofnun stúdenta) and the Student Housing Association (Byggingafélag námsmanna), whose purpose is to keep rent as low as possible. The purpose of student housing is, among other things, to ensure that students have a stable home while studying, to guarantee students from outside the capital access to university education, and to support students who are starting families.

Currently, rent in student housing is kept low by linking it to the consumer price index. With this new bill, FS and BN would instead have to estimate inflation for the next 12 months in advance and set the rent accordingly when the lease begins. This means that rent would be increased based on predicted future inflation — not current costs.

In other words: students will end up paying more for rent than they do now.

Predictability is good — but who is paying the price for it?

Students demand that Parliament vote against this worsening of living conditions for students and learners across the country.

Arent Orri J. Claessen, president of the Student Council

Viktor Pétur Finnsson, loan officer of the Student Council

 

The article was first published by Vísir on the 10th of November 2025.

The Student Council of the University of Iceland (SHÍ) regrets the University of Iceland’s decision not to admit new students next academic year to the vocational diploma program for people with intellectual disabilities.
The decision is largely due to a lack of funding, which stems from the government’s chronic underfunding of the higher education system. SHÍ regrets that this underfunding most severely affects a marginalized group with limited access to the only program designed for them.

The program has provided a large group of people with intellectual disabilities both the tools and the opportunity to achieve greater independence. Its positive impact is reflected in the high percentage of graduates who are employed two years after finishing the program, as well as in the increased self-confidence of the students. Students in the program are an active and valued part of the university community. They participate in student associations and, last semester, organized a seminar in collaboration with the National Association of People with Intellectual Disabilities, which was attended by around 200 people.

This is the only program of its kind available to this group in Iceland, and it is unacceptable to further restrict access to it—especially when far fewer students are admitted to the program each year than the number graduating from secondary school vocational tracks.

The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which Iceland has ratified and plans to incorporate into national law in the coming months, clearly states that everyone has the right to education without discrimination—at all levels. Article 24 of the Convention specifically guarantees that persons with disabilities must have access to higher education on an equal basis with others, with appropriate accommodations and support. The University of Iceland is obligated to uphold these provisions.

Therefore, SHÍ calls on both the government and the University of Iceland to ensure the necessary funding and the annual admission of new students without delay. This is essential to guarantee equal access to education and full participation in society. The University should take pride in offering diverse education for a diverse student body and continue this important work. The University of Iceland should be a university for all people in Iceland, guided by an inclusive policy. The vocational diploma program has been a credit to the University, and the Student Council insists that it must remain so.

The Student Council meeting will take place on Monday, November 3rd, 2025, at 5:30 PM in room N-132, Askja.

According to Article 9 of the Student Council’s bylaws, council meetings are open to all University of Iceland students. These meetings are advertised among students, and all interested are welcome to attend.

Please contact the Student Council office at +354 570-0850 or via email at shi@hi.is if you have any questions regarding the meeting or its agenda. Students are also welcome to contact the Student Council office with questions about their rights.

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Agenda

Meeting called to order
5:30 PM

Approval of Previous Meeting Minutes

5:30-5:35 PM

Proposal to improve conditions for student’s maternity leave.

Presenter: Andrea Edda Guðlaugsdóttir

5:35-5:45 PM

Proposal that the Student Council emphasizes their earlier stance on improved organization and coordination between schools and faculties.

Presenter: María Björk Stefánsdóttir

5:45-5:55 PM

Proposal to sell nicotine pouches in Háma.

Presenter: Eiríkur Kúld Viktorsson

5:55-6:05 PM

Intermission.

6:05-6:20 PM

Proposal that that the syllabus and course material for the B.Ed. in teaching be re-evaluated.

Presenter: Halldóra Elín Einarsdóttir

6:20-6:30 PM

Proposal that the Student Council states their clear support towards trans students and staff at the University of Iceland.

Presenter: María Björk Stefánsdóttir

6:30-6:40 PM

Proposal for fairness in parking charges at the University of Iceland.

Presenter: Eiríkur Kúld Viktorsson

6:40-6:50 PM

Proposal for a change in admission periods for vocational studies for people with disabilities.

Presenter: Halldóra Elín Einarsdóttir

6:50-7:00 PM

Proposal on improved security in student housing.

Presenters: Jón Karl Ngosanthiah Karlsson, Sigrún Ósk Hreiðarsdóttir

7:00-7:10 PM

Proposal that the Student Council advocates for standard operating procedures in the case of suicide in student housing.

Flutningsmaður: Guðlaug Eva Albertsdóttir

7:10-7:20 PM

Proposal that students will always have access to electric sockets in all classrooms of the university.

Flutningsmaður: Kjartan Leifur Sigurðsson

7:20-7:30 PM

Presentation of the yearly plans for the committees of the Student Council

7:30-7:55 PM

Recorded Matters and Announcements.

7:55-8:00 PM

 

Voting will take place on items II.-IV. og VI.-XIII.