Faroe Islands

by Paul Bacsich

For entities in Faroe Islands see Category:Faroe Islands

Partners situated in Faroe Islands

None.

Faroe Islands in a nutshell

(sourced from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faroe_Islands)

The Faroe Islands, sometimes Faeroe Islands, Faroe, Faroes, or Faeroes (Faroese: Føroyar, Danish: Færøerne) are an island group situated between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, approximately halfway between Scotland and Iceland.

The Faroe Islands are a part of the Kingdom of Denmark, along with Denmark proper and Greenland.

The Faroe Islands have been an autonomous province of Denmark since 1948. Over the years, the Faroese have been granted control of most matters. Some areas still remain the responsibility of Denmark, though, such as military defence, foreign affairs and law.

The Faroe Islands have close traditional ties with Iceland and with Shetland, Orkney and the Outer Hebrides in Scotland.

The Faroe Islands were politically associated with Denmark in 1380, when Norway entered the Kalmar Union with Denmark, which gradually evolved into Danish control of the islands, but this association ceased in 1814. The islands are represented on the Nordic Council by the Danish delegation.

The population is around 48,000.

The capital (and largest city) is Tórshavn.

Administratively, the islands are divided into 30 municipalities (kommunur) within which there are 120 or so settlements. Traditionally, there are also the six sýslur ("regions": Norðoyar, Eysturoy, Streymoy, Vágar, Sandoy and Suðuroy). Although today sýsla technically means "police district", the term is still commonly used to indicate a geographical region. In earlier times, each sýsla had its own ting (assembly), the so-called várting ("spring ting").

In June 2008 unemployment declined to 1.1%, before rising to 3.4% in early 2009. Nevertheless, the almost total dependence on fishing means that the economy remains extremely vulnerable. Petroleum found close to the Faroese area gives hope for deposits in the immediate area, which may provide a basis for sustained economic prosperity.

11.7% of Faroe Islands' national budget comes as economic aid from Denmark, which is about the same as 18% of Faroe Islands' total expense budget.

While having one of the lowest unemployment rates in Europe, this should not necessarily be taken as a sign of a recovering economy, as many young students move to Denmark and other countries once they are finished with high school. This leaves a largely middle-aged and elderly population that may lack the skills and knowledge to fill newly developed positions on the Faroes.

The Faroes and the European Union

As explicitly asserted by both Rome treaties, the Faroe Islands are not part of the European Union. Moreover, a protocol to the treaty of accession of Denmark to the European Communities stipulates that Danish nationals residing in the Faroe Islands are not to be considered as Danish nationals within the meaning of the treaties. Hence, Danish people living in the Faroes are not citizens of the European Union (although other EU nationals living there remain EU citizens).

The Faroes are not covered by the Schengen free movement agreement, but there are no border checks when travelling between the Faroes and any Schengen country.

The Faroes have been part of the Nordic Passport Union since 1966, and since 2001 there have been no border checks between the Nordic countries and the rest of the Schengen area as part of the Schengen agreement.

On 5 August 2009, the Faroese Løgting sent an application to the European Central Bank to introduce the Euro as the national currency, pending referendum

Schools in Faroe Islands

The administration of all schools and educational institutions in the Faroe Islands is carried out by the Faroese Ministry of Education and Culture (Mentamálaráðið) - see http://www.ask.fo/education/.

The majority of the education available corresponds to the Danish educational system.

There is a very informative article The Faroese Educational System, avaialable at http://www.ask.fo/education/

Higher education

There is a university and several colleges.

Universities in Faroe Islands

University of the Faroe Islands

The University of the Faroe Islands is a state-run university, and one of the smallest universities in the Western world. It offers education of particular relevance to the Faroese community that cannot be found elsewhere. It has an annual operating budget of DKK 19 million.

There are three faculties:

1. Faculty of Faroese Language - it is possible to take a BA in Faroese language and literature and a MA in Nordic, with an emphasise on Faroese language and literature
2. Faculty of Natural Science - it is possible to take BSc in physics/geophysics, BSc in petroleum engineering (petroleum science), BSc in biology, BSc in electrical engineering or BSc in computer science
3. Faculty of History and Sociology - it is possible to take a BA and MA in history and history of civilization, and it is also possible to take a BS Sc in political science.

In recent years several externally financed projects have been initiated, e.g. research projects on ocean currents and PhD studentships. The university works closely with the University of Copenhagen and the University of Iceland for research projects.

Its web site is http://www.setur.fo/en/ - and see also the Wikipedia article at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_the_Faroe_Islands

The University has a wonderful motto:

Mildar veittrar tendraðu ein vita føroyum stjørnuleið frá øld til øld: "Gentle elves set light to lead the Faroes on the starry way from age to age"

Polytechnics in Faroe Islands

Non-university post-secondary institutions include:

• Maritime College (Maskinmeistaraskúlin - and Føroya Sjómansskúli) the College has two lines of education, Master Mariner (Captain) and Chief Engineer, intended for manning all vessel types and sizes. The educations are composed to comply with the requirements of students requiring qualifications/licenses. A captain's degree takes three years, and the student has also to sail for a predetermined period before he/she is fully certified. The Chief Engineer education is a three years education.
• Nursing School (Sjúkrarøktarfrøðiskúli Føroya). The school provides students with a theoretical and practical knowledge on how to nurse a patient, both at hospitals and in other sectors of the social security system. The education lasts four years.
• Teachers' Training School (Føroya Læraraskúli). The education at Teachers' Training School takes four years and provides the students with the qualification to teach in the Faroese primary school. The examination also provides access for candidates from the school to teach in primary schools in Denmark.
• Kindergarten Teachers' Training School (Føroya Læraraskúli). This education takes three years and provides the students with the necessary theoretical and practical basic knowledge to work in kindergartens and in different social institutions.

Education reform

The Bologna Process

It is not clear where this is handled - probably in Denmark.

Quality assurance

It is not clear where this is handled - probably in Denmark.

Information society

Towards the information society

Since 2000, new information technology and business projects have been fostered in the Faroe Islands to attract new investment

ICT in education initiatives

None.

Interesting Virtual Campus Initiatives

None.

Interesting Programmes

Note that the University of the Faroe Islands participates in the University of the Arctic.

Re.ViCa Case-study

None.

Lessons learnt

Further study is suggested of the influence and relevance of the University of the Arctic.

References

• The Faroese Educational System, http://www.ask.fo/education/
• Adult Education in the Faroe Islands, http://www.nordvux.net/download/3109/vux_utb_fo_eng.pdf
• The Representation of the Faroes in London: Education and Research, http://www.faroeislands.org.uk/Default.aspx?ID=2464

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For OER policies and projects in Faroe Islands see Faroe Islands/OER

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