News

The Student Council of the University of Iceland (SHÍ) declares its full support for the Palestinian people and their fight for their right to exist against Israeli colonialism and genocide. Despite the atrocities committed in Israel on October 7, 2023, it does not justify the violation of basic human rights. Immediate humanitarian aid and a ceasefire in Gaza must be guaranteed. You can second the declaration by signing this petition. 

SHÍ agrees with the declaration of the staff of the University of Iceland and the declaration of the National Association of Icelandic Students that the appeal of Birzeit University must be responded to, as the university community has every obligation to do so and make its voice heard.

SHÍ demands that the University react to Israel’s war crimes with as much determination as it did against Russia in 2022. SHÍ also agrees with the staff of the University of Iceland that academic institutions in Israel and companies that support Israel’s war operations must be boycotted.

The root of the conflict at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea has a long history of the growing illegal occupation of Palestinian land by the Israeli government, as the UN Secretary General points out. Israel’s colonialism and land occupation as well as attacks on Palestinian citizens violate international humanitarian law according to the United Nations and Amnesty International. Israel’s policy of apartheid also violates both the Geneva Convention and international humanitarian law. No state is above international humanitarian law.

It is especially important that educational and scientific institutions make themselves heard when human rights violations are committed and keep the facts in the air, but fake news and propaganda have created a divide in the international community. As stated in a statement from the staff of the University of Iceland, the Western international community has maintained a dominant discourse that dehumanizes the Palestinian people and creates justification for repeated massacres of innocent citizens, including thousands of children. Since university education is an important guide to a more open and just society, the students of the University of Iceland encourage the country’s higher education institutions as well as the academic community as a whole to keep the facts in the air, recognize the historical roots of the attacks and shed light on the power imbalance between the nations.

The academic community must fulfill its academic obligations, rely on facts, stay away from state-sponsored propaganda, and hold those responsible for genocide, as well as those who support it, accountable for their actions.

SHÍ stands with Palestine in the fight for peace and justice. In the same way, SHÍ condems all violence and takes a clear stance against Muslim hatred, anti-Semitism and any kind of violence.

Agenda Student Council Meeting on January 15th 2024 in room 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. 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 December 13th 17:05-17:10
3. Announcements and issues ahead 17:10-17:20 
4. Funding of the University of Iceland – Guðmundur Ragnar Jónsson, HÍ´s CEO 17:20-17:45 
5. Presentation on The Icelandic Student Loan Fund report  – Gísli Laufeyjarson Höskuldsson, Student Loan Representative 17:45-18:00  
6. Finance of the Student Council 18:00-18:10
   Intermission 18:10-18:20 
7. Next steps regarding HÍ´s registration fee (vote) 18:20-18:30  
8. Transportation and Environmental Affairs 18:30-18:40 
9. Proposal and discussion on campaign content (voting) 18:40-18:55   
10. Presentation on The National Union of Icelandic Students (LÍS) – Alexandra Ýr van Erven 18:55-19:10 
11. Other issues 19:10-19:15  
12. Meeting ends 19:15

Dear students,

the Student Council Office wishes you happy holidays and a wonderful New Year!

The office will be closed until the 4th of January but we can always be contacted through shi@hi.is, where we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.

 

Agenda Student Council Meeting on December 13th 2023 in room VHV-007

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 November 14th 17:05-17:10
3. Announcements and issues ahead 17:10-17:20 
4. An encouragement of proactive observation on the registration fee to the Alþingi ombudsman (voting) 17:20-17:35 
5. Legislative changes on SHÍ´s laws (voting) 17:35-17:50  
6. Proposal and discussion on campaign content (voting)  17:50-18:05 
7. Oktoberfest and Voffdays reports presented 18:05-18:15 

Hlé 18:15-18:25 

Intermission 

8. Code of practice of the Student Council and the Student Council´s Ethics and Equality rules (voting) 18:25-18:40 
9. An overview on important matters SHÍ  – Housing 18:40-18:55   
10. Proposal for SHÍ´s statement regarding Palestine and Israel (voting) 18:55-19:05 
11. Other issues 19:05-19:15  
12. Recorded issues
13. Meeting ends 19:15

You can now apply for grants in the second allocation of the Student Fund this school year.

The application form can be found here and we encourage you to familiarize yourself with the fund, especially its laws and code of practice before applying. . The application deadline is until 16:00pm on Wednesday Desember 13th 2023. Late applications will automatically be turned away. 

Diagnostic and maintenance grants will be granted in this allocation.

Examples of other grants you can apply for now;  International collaboration or domestic collaboration among university students, Informative and discussion sparking events within the University and Solid grants for all study associations. 

Any questions can be directed to Dagný Þóra Óskarsdóttir, the fund’s chairperson. She can be reached by email at studentasjodur@hi.is.

Agenda Student Council Meeting on September 14th 2023 in room L-101

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 september 20th 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. Discussions on the registration fee – Rakel Anna Boulter and Gísli Laufeyjarson Höskuldsson 17:30-17:45
6. An overview on important matters SHÍ – Rakel Anna Boulter 17:45-18:30 

Intermission 18:30-18:40

1. Nominations to the electoral board (voting) 18:30-18:45
2. Proposal for review of working practices in the Student Rights Office (voting)  – Júlíus Viggó Ólafsson 18:45-19:00
3. Proposal to update the Student Council’s Transportation and Environmental Affairs Committee implementation plans (voting) – Berglind Bjarnardóttir 19:00-19:15
4. Other issues 19:15-19:30
5. Recorded issues
6. Meeting ends 19:30

The University of Iceland has broken the law. We demand that the overcharging of registration fees be corrected immediately.

 

According to the decision of the committee of university student appeals [Áfrýjunarnefnd í kærumálum háskólanema] from October 5th this year, the University of Iceland has based the determination of  registration fees on insufficient assumptions. Students therefore cannot receive information about what they are paying for.

 

The background of the case

The Student Council of the University of Iceland has long questioned the legitimacy of the registration fee, the issue was discussed by the Student Council last year, but its beginnings can be traced all the way back to the spring of 2020 when the University Council decided to entrust the Rector with increasing the registration fee to ISK 104,000. Although the fee was not actually raised, the work of the Student Council continued.

 

In September 2020, a student at UI and Student Interest Representative of the Student Council, Jessý Jónsdóttir, demanded a refund from the university council for the part of the registration fee that she believed the law does not allow the school to charge. Registration fees in public universities are service fees that must be based on the law and may, in principle, only be charged for the services provided to the person who pays the fee. The University Council rejected the student’s claim and justified the decision by stating that the breakdown of the cost items behind the registration fee are estimated based on actual expenses of the year 2015. The case was followed up and in October 2022 the committee of university student appeals concluded that the University of Iceland had violated the rules of investigation in the determination of the registration fee and failed to properly calculate the registration fee. This ruling confirmed the Student Council’s suspicion that the fee cannot be considered only a registration fee, but is better defined as a school fee. The University Council considered the matter again, but rejected the claim once again, citing new calculations. Now the committee of university student appeals has unequivocally found that certain cost items do not comply with the law.

 

The position of the Student Council

The decision of the committee of university student appeals in case no. 4/2022 from October 5, 2023 rendes the decision of the University Council from November 3, 2022, regarding the rejection of the refund of the registration fee to the case applicant, invalid. The ruling is based on the committee´s findings that there are not sufficiently calculations or cost estimates behind the determination of the registration fee. Since registration fees at public universities are considered service fees, the amount of the fee must be based on reliable calculations or adequate estimates. This was lacking and therefore the University of Iceland has violated the rule of law. On October 26, 2023, the Student Council sent a letter demanding the refund of illegal registration fees dating back to 2014.

 

Students should not finance the University

The Student Council of the University of Iceland has for years pointed out the consequences of underfunding public higher education in Iceland, and that this affect students most. We find it both sad, unprofessional and unacceptable that the University of Iceland reaches into the pockets of students to raise money to bridge the gap caused by the underfunding of the public universities. It should be the government’s responsibility to support public higher education, not students´.

 

Students are generally a low-income group that is financially disadvantaged. We find it unacceptable that illegal and burdensome payments are demanded of students. The Student Council’s survey, which was presented to students last April, shows striking results about the financial situation of students. The situation is incredibly poor, student loans do not reach those who need them and too many students are forced to work alongside their studies to make ends meet. In the eyes of many, ISK 75,000 is not a large amount, but for students, every króna matters, especially when it is collected illegally and annually, wherby it quickly accumulates and can have a significant impact on student finances.

 

Iceland often compares itself to other Nordic countries. When it comes to supporting public higher education, we lag behind the nations we want to compare ourselves to. Support for students in Iceland is significantly less than in neighboring countries. The prerequisite for the competitiveness of university education and the competitiveness of Icelandic students at public universities compared to students from other Nordic countries is real and adequate support from the public sector.

 

The Student Council has demanded that the University of Iceland refund registration fees that have been collected illegally. It is not possible for students to fund the public universities. We strongly emphasize that the fundamental problem of the higher education sector in Iceland is serious underfunding, which has caused this illegal fee collection, for which the government is fully responsible.

Stúdentaráð Háskóla Íslands boðar til blaðamannafundar í Mýrinni, Grósku, föstudaginn 27. október kl 11:00. Til umræðu verður ólögmæti skrásetningargjalda, lögbrot Háskóla Íslands og fjármögnun opinberra háskóla. 

The Student Council announces press conference in Mýrin, Gróska, on Friday, October 27th at 11 am. The illegitimacy of the registration fees, infringement of the University of Iceland and funding of the public universities will be discussed.

On it’s October 19th meeting, the Student Council of UI agreed to send a memorandum to the ministry of Higher education, Science and Innovation as well as the ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs. The memorandum’s occasion was the upcoming revision of laws 60/2020 on the Icelandic Student Loan Fund. Public support for students is currently inadequate, as 70% of Icelandic students work during term time, thereof 72% because otherwise they could not afford to study.

As stated in the memorandum, “The government must face the fact that this is a proof of an underfinanced student loan system […]. The more beneficial the student loans, the more likely is the group that works “too much” to focus better on their studies. The Icelandic government seems unaware of this.”

“For decades, the Student Council of the University of Iceland has pointed out that public support to students is far too little, even if it can be expected to pay itself back many times over, due to the impact of wage taxes alone. This is the fundamental problem of the student loans system in Iceland and no optimization or transfer of funding will solve it.”

The memorandum can be found here.