

Meet diverse, international students ...
Taught at the University of Akureyri (UnAk) in northern Iceland, the course has from its inception been offered jointly by UnAk, the University of Reading in the UK, and more recently also by Ghent University in Belgium and Jacobs University in Bremen, Germany. Diversity is thus a hallmark of the course, which in 2014 hosted students of 15 different nationalities, all around the world.
Indeed, the international flavour of the course has been highly praised by students, for example in the blog written by several Reading students in 2014. Be sure to also check out the videos where students recorded their impressions from the course.

... and a crack team of expert staff
Although the course is primarily organized by bacteriologists Robert Jackson at the University of Reading and Oddur Vilhelmsson at UnAk, a number of other experts in virology, ecology, geology, biotechnology, environmental science and pedagogy teach significant parts of the course. In 2014, the following teachers lectured and/or taught practicals and/or led field trips within the course:
-
Alice Maucline (Reading) - field skills, metadata.
-
Anett Blischke (Iceland Geosurvey) - geology and geography of Iceland.
-
Auður Sigurbjörnsdóttir (UnAk) - lichens, bacteriology, metagenomics.
-
Ben Neuman (Reading) - virology.
-
Bjarni Gautason (Iceland Geosurvey) - geochemistry.
-
Daniela Meissner (Jacobs) - chemistry, lab and field skills.
-
Hans-Jürgen Koepp-Bank (Darmstadt College) - thermophiles, bioreactor.
-
Hreiðar Valtýsson (UnAk) - marine biology.
-
Jesus Murillo (University of Navarra) - bioinformatics, bacteriology.
-
Matthias Ullrich (Jacobs) - bacteriology, ocean sampling.
-
Monica Höfte (Ghent) - bacterial physiology, plant-microbe interactions.
-
Oddur Vilhelmsson (UnAk) - bacteriology, cold environments, field skills.
-
RebeccaThomas (Reading) - field skills, metadata.
-
Rob Jackson (Reading) - bacteriology, soil bacteria, plant-microbe interactions.
-
Sean Scully (UnAk) - biotechnology, enzymes.
-
Simon Clarke (Reading) - bacteriology, biotechnology.
-
Tryggvi Sveinsson (Marine Research Institute) - ocean sampling, skipper.