Even though it´s many minus degrees and the snow is still around, summer is just around the corner! It´s the end of the internship course with now only 2 short weeks left of the semester and I can´t really grasp how fast time have past. I remember how nervous I was the first weeks, afraid that I wasn´t qualified enough, not prepared, not knowledgeable enough and couldn’t imagen a time where I would actually feel confident being part of a workplace here on Svalbard. Now however, four months later, this is exactly what I feel: confident. By having the opportunity […]
Longyearbyen Lokalstyret
11 posts
Episode two is here of the Internship podcast! Emma and Oline reflects over how much (or little!) knowledge they had before they came up to Longyearbyen, sustainability on Svalbard and how you can actually contribute to society as a biologist. Tune in for some happy talks about the internship in Arctic Biology and life in general in Longyearbyen!
In this podcast you will follow two students talking about their experiences from the AB-208 course at UNIS. Emma is having her internship position at Longyearbyen Local Council, whilst Oline is doing her internship at Longyearbyen school. Time is flying, and they are already halfway through the semester. It’s time for reflection; what have the girls learned, and how are they using their biology skills at their workplace? Tune in for some happy talks about the internships and life in general in Longyearbyen!
Time goes so fast here in the Arctic. It´s already the end of February, the sun is so close to get over the mountains and I´ve been at the local government for more than a month now. As mentioned in my earlier blogpost my placement is at the technical department, where I follow one of the people responsible for questions regarding the environment. I really like this concept of having just one supervisor as it gets so much easier to understand and get into the every-day work, have good communication and be able to discuss why and how things are […]
Hej! My name is Emma, a biology student from Sweden who, until so very recently had no idea you could actually have the privilege to study here on Svalbard! I´m in my last semester of my bachelor in Biology and Earthscience and found out about UNIS out of total coincidence just a couple of weeks before the application date was due. It has always been a dream of mine to be able to come to the arctic as a field assistant or researcher so to really be here now, taking this so very practical course and AB-207 (Research project in […]
The past few weeks have been spent getting an overview of the remaining tasks and how to complete these within the allocated timeframe. Unfortunately, there have been a few changes due to Corona and the sampling event scheduled in May has had to be postponed mostly because of planning, social distancing and quarantine restrictions. Participating in the sampling would have been an excellent opportunity to utilize and expand classroom-taught biological knowledge, however the theoretical skills gained throughout the internship process have most likely been just as useful. These include learning about the fjord systems in Svalbard, how anthropogenic impact influence […]
The past month has been spent evaluating the tenders from five different companies in regards to the recipient study. The actual content of the tenders and the details surrounding the decision making process can unfortunately not be disclosed, however there are many general principles of such assessments that can be discussed. An essential first step in the evaluation process is to ensure that the bidders fulfill the fundamental requirements and that they fully understand the significance, risks and costs related to the different aspects of the project. As long as the invitation to tender is clear and concise, the communication, […]
The situation for the past few weeks has been heavily influenced by Covid-19, and with all lectures cancelled it was uncertain whether the students could proceed with the internships. As measures were taken to avoid contact and potential contamination risks, the students were advised to work from home, something that could easily be facilitated by LL. They have provided a PC and all communication goes through emails and Teams, something that has worked really well. Throughout the last couple of weeks we have been working on a project description for the recipient survey (mentioned in the last blog post), and […]
The past few weeks have been spent gaining a thorough understanding of waste water management systems, Adventfjorden as a recipient, and possible solutions to the challenges of waste water pollution. This post will explain the conditions in Adventfjorden and summarize the conclusions from earlier seabed studies. Adventfjorden is a 7 km long and 3–5 km wide fjord on the southern side of Isfjorden, Svalbard’s largest fjord system. The two largest rivers, Adventelva and Longyearelva, plus numerous of other streams contribute a substantial amount of melt water from the surrounding glaciers and as well as a large amount of inorganic sediments […]
Hi! My name is Dom, I am from Australia. I am currently studying a Bachelor of Biology, majoring in Marine Science at the University of Queensland. This will be my last semester of my undergrad degree. I am extremely excited and grateful to be here studying at UNIS. When I left home, I was originally going to study in Bergen. A week before the semester was going to start, I got an email from UNIS informing me a spot had opened up. I jumped on the opportunity and I’m so glad that I did! I was drawn to Svalbard as […]
My name is Stina, and I am a biology student finishing the final semester of my bachelor’s degree at UNIS this spring. This semester I’ll be undertaking AB-203 Arctic Environmental Management and AB-208 Internship in Arctic Biology, in addition to writing a bachelor thesis on the possible effects microplastics on wildlife in the Arctic. My internship host is the environmental department at Longyearbyen Lokalstyre which is a part of the local government. They are responsible for monitoring the pollution from Longyearbyen, including two landfills and waste water from the city. The target is to reduce the anthropogenic impact on the […]