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As stated in a government announcement, public universities will not get permission to increase registration fees as requested by the universities last december. The minister of higher education, science and innovation previously decided that the registration fee would not be increased during last spring´s parliament session. This was announced in the wake of the Student Council campaign from March this year, called “Stúdentar splæsa” [Students pay the bill], where the Student Council fought against the increase of registration fees. It is great news for students that public universities will not get permission to increase the registration fee.

The history of this fight dates almost a decade back when registration fees were increased from 60.000 ISK to 75.000 ISK in 2014. The increase was strongly protested by the Student Council, who also complained to the University Council and later to the Althingi Ombudsman. Over the last three years the fight has been intense and the Student Council has launched campaigns regarding the registration fee.

The registration fee is already too high!

In 2021 the Student Council launched a campaign called ,,Stúdentar eiga betra skilið” [Students deserve better]. The campaign focused on the economic certainty of students. In the campaign, the Student Council highlighted that registration fees were an additional burden on a social group that is already in a vulnerable position. The fact that it is not customary to pay burdensome fees to study at a university in the neighboring countries was also highlighted.

The Student Council celebrats the minister´s decision to not grant permission to increase the fee, but it must be emphasized that the fight is not over. Registration fees and other factors which add to the economic uncertainty of students is cause for concern. All future attempts to increase the fee will be met with full force by students. The Student Council has shown perseverance in protecting the interests of students and emphasizes the importance of students standing together in these matters.

But is the registration fee legal? 

Although the minister´s announcement is great news, it is important to consider the fact that the Student Council has continuously questioned the legality of charging students any amount in registration fees. The Student Council finds that registration fees for public universities does not comply with the Act on public higher education institutions. We therefore strongly encourage the minister to take a step further and start work to review registration fees with a view to reducing or abolishing them.

Agenda Student Council Meeting on September 20th 2023 in room HT 103

According to paragraph 9 of the Student Council’s laws, the Council’s meetings are open to all students at the University of Iceland. Students who are not members of the Student Council may therefore attend meetings and listen to discussions within the Council.

Please contact the office of the Student Council at shi@hi.is if you have any questions regarding the meeting or the agenda. Furthermore, all students are welcome to contact the office with inquiries about their rights.

Meeting agenda

1. The President of the Student Council convenes the meeting 17:00-17:05
2. Vote on minutes from the Student Council meeting on August 22nd 17:05-17:10
3. Remaining nominations for the Student Council’s schools and committees (voting) 17:10-17:15
4. Announcements and issues ahead 17:15-17:30
5. Presentation of the state of affairs in the statutory revision of the Act on the Students’ Education Fund – Gísli Laufeyjarson Höskuldsson, SHÍ Loan Fund representative 17:30-17:50
6. SHÍ´s annual report 2022-2023 presented – Guðmundur Ásgeir Guðmundsson, SHÍ´s managing director 17:50-18:00
7. Legislative changes (voting) 18:00-18:30
   Intermission 18:30-18:40
8. Presentation of a survey on students’ financial situation – Katrín Björk Kristjánsdóttir and María Sól Antonsdóttir 18:40-18:55
9. Vote on the Student Council’s committees implementation plans 18:55-19:20 
10. Other issues 19:20-19:30
11. Recorded issues
12. Meeting ends 19:30

The Student Council´s Rights Office is open on all week days from 10:00 – 17:00.

In addition, the International Officer, the Student Interest Representative and the Student Loan Representative have the following consultation hours:

Feel free to come by!

The Akademía, The Student Council’s guide to UI, was published today.

There you can find a variety of information on the school and the Student Council as well as useful tips and tricks!

We hope it will be useful and welcome you all to the school.

Agenda Student Council Meeting on August 22nd 2023 in room HT 104

According to paragraph 9 of the Student Council’s laws, the Council’s meetings are open to all students at the University of Iceland. Students who are not members of the Student Council may therefore attend meetings and listen to discussions within the Council.

Please contact the office of the Student Council at shi@hi.is if you have any questions regarding the meeting or the agenda. Furthermore, all students are welcome to contact the office with inquiries about their rights.

Meeting agenda

1. 1. The President of the Student Council convenes the meeting 17:00-17:05
   2. Vote on minutes from the Student Council meeting on June 21st 17:05-17:10
   3. Announcements and issues ahead 17:10-17:30
   4. A memorandum on Oktoberfest 17:30-17:40
   5. Introduction to user-centered digital services from Guðný Benediktsdóttir 17:40-17:55
   6. Appointment of a student representative to the University Council’s Icelandic Language Committee, Science Committee as well as an observer in the Health and Safety Committee. 17:55-18:05
   7. Vote to the board of the Student Fund 18:05-18:15 
   8. Intermission 18:15-18:30
   9. Vote on the Student Council’s committees implementation plans 18:30-19:20  
   10. Other issues 19:20-19:25
   11. Meeting ends  19:25

Dear students,

According to Article 21 of the Student Council’s Laws, the Student Council shall appoint student representatives to the committees of the University Council. We are looking for a student representative for the Icelandic Language Committee as well as an observer in the Health and Safety Committee. The period for the Icelandic Language Committee is one year and three years for the Health and Safety Committee. 

Qualifications:

• Interest in the work of the Student Council and students’ affairs 
• Initiative and ability to work independently
• Good communication skills
• Active participation in the university community is an advantage
• Knowledge of the administration of the University of Iceland is an advantage

The Student Council will elect the representatives to the committees at the council’s meeting on August 22. More information about the committee’s work can be found on the UI’s website. 

If you are interested, please send an email to shi@hi.is before 23:59 on August 20th. The application must contain a CV, brief introduction of the applicant, a description of their interest and experience that they consider to be useful in the committee.

Skarphéðinn Finnbogason has been hired as the Student Council’s Októberfest Communications’ Officer 2023.

This is his second year, so he is experienced. He is deeply interested in marketing and event management and has worked on many big events. He is also experienced in social media marketing. We would like to wish him all the best in this new role and look forward to working with him!

Are you interested in working for the Student Paper this school year? The paper is looking for talented writers and others who wish to participate in writing articles, editing, translating, proofreading and taking photographs for the paper during the upcoming school year.

The Student Paper features articles and interviews concerning anything that might be related to student issues. It is published four times over the year, twice each term. The paper is written in the interests of students at the University of Iceland and it is therefore essential to achieve the greatest possible diversity of journalists and editorial team members. Working for the Student Paper is a great opportunity to gain experience in newspaper publishing and can prove to be a valuable experience in future employment. Please note that this is voluntary work only.

The Student Paper is looking for:

1. Editorial members – Members of the editorial team meet weekly, plan the direction the paper is going to take along with the editor and write articles for the paper.
2. Journalists – meet twice each semester and write articles for the paper of their own choice or articles assigned to them by the editorial team.
3. Translators – are required to have a good knowledge of both English and Icelandic. The whole content of the paper is translated into English in accordance with the Student Paper’s policy, which implies having a strong team of translators.
4. Proofreaders – must have excellent skills in English. Proofreaders will proofread articles and give comments regarding grammar, spelling or phrasing.
5. Photographers – takes pictures for articles and interviews. The pictures will be published both in the paper and on the Student Paper’s website. Photographers must be flexible and should own or have access to a good camera.

The Student Paper is intended to give a voice to all students at the University of Iceland and students from every department are therefore encouraged to apply by sending an email to the Student Paper’s address studentabladid@hi.is before August 15. Please enclose a cover letter and examples of your writing if applying as a journalist.

The Student Council of the University of Iceland is advertising for an interested and hard-working individual to take on a part-time job for SHÍ. This is a 30% temporary position that is all about planning, marketing and implementation at Októberfest. The working period begins on July 24th and ends on September 15th. 

Main projects and areas of responsibility:

• Communication with contractors
• Supervision of marketing matters in consultation with SHÍ
• General management of Októberfest by SHÍ
• Summary and report after the festival

Qualification requirements:

• Event management experience
• Experience in marketing
• Good communication skills, organizational skills and independent work methods
• Interest and knowledge of the Student Council desirable

The individual is employed part-time for the period stated above. Further information about the job can be obtained from the Student Council’s Rights Office, tel. 570-0850 or at shi@hi.is 

An introductory letter along with a curriculum vitae shall be sent by e-mail to the Council’s email address: shi@hi.is marked “Employee Októberfest SHÍ”. The application deadline is at 23:59 on 16 July 2023. Applications received later will not be considered.