Headlines
Stories that make waves.
USM Returns to Arctic Circle Assembly for 11th Year, Deepening Global Partnerships
This week, a delegation of students, faculty, and staff from the University of Southern Maine is in Reykjavik, Iceland, for the Arctic Circle Assembly (ACA) — the world’s largest international gathering on Arctic issues. Coordinated by USM’s Maine North Atlantic Institute (MNAI), this year’s trip marks the university’s 11th time at the assembly. | Read More
Students from the University of Southern Maine on a prize trip to Iceland
After winning a new-ideas competition, University of Southern Maine students took their innovation global with a prize trip to Iceland—exploring cutting-edge research labs, testing VR tech, and sharing ideas with Reykjavík University.
A week of discovery, collaboration, and big thinking. | Read More
USM Launches First Student Innovation Challenge with Trip to Iceland on the Line
A team of University of Southern Maine students won “What About This?” — the University’s first innovation challenge — with an idea to turn discarded fishing gear into prosthetics. Team Oceancycle earned an all-expenses-paid trip to Iceland Innovation Week after competing against four other teams. | Read More
From USM to Iceland: 5 Questions With a Fulbright Scholar
Meet Emma Adler, a recent USM graduate turned Fulbright Scholar, now studying international affairs in Reykjavik. Her journey blends a passion for global issues, Arctic research, and the drive to make an impact beyond borders.
Get to know what inspired her path—and where it’s taking her next.| Read More
How a USM Student From Portland, Maine Took her Research to the Arctic Circle Assembly
A USM student is taking her research global—presenting at an international conference in Iceland and shining a light on why improving maternal health is key to stronger communities and economies worldwide.
See how USM students are making an impact beyond Maine.
USM is strengthening global connections!
The University of Southern Maine has renewed its partnership with UiT The Arctic University of Norway, expanding opportunities for student exchange and collaborative research focused on shared challenges across the North Atlantic. | Read More
USM Cohort Joins Global Dialogue at Arctic Circle Assembly in Iceland
A dedicated team from the University of Southern Maine—including students, faculty and staff—made waves this October at the Arctic Circle Assembly in Reykjavík, Iceland. With more than 2,000 delegates from over 60 countries, the gathering provides a global forum on pressing Arctic and North Atlantic challenges. | Read More
USM, NEOC Launch Commercialization Partnership to Transform Research into Real-World Solutions
Discover how the University of Southern Maine and the New England Ocean Cluster are joining forces to turn academic innovation into real-world solutions—creating a new model for economic growth, environmental sustainability, and community resilience in Maine. | Read More
Searching for Good Business Ideas for People and the Planet
As the world races toward a greener future, the Arctic—long viewed as a remote frontier—is rapidly emerging as a hotbed of innovation, risk, and opportunity. From AI-powered solutions for safer infrastructure to the ethical dilemmas of mining the ocean floor, a new generation of thinkers is asking: Can we build a better business model that works for both people and the planet? | Read More | Download the PDF version
Visiting students from Iceland sample USM’s science offerings
Cod liver oil isn’t just a health remedy—it’s the glue binding USM and Reykjavik University in a unique partnership. Five Icelandic students earned their way to Maine through a marketing competition. See how their visit strengthened international connections! | Read More
Vulnerability and adaptation on the icecap’s edge: farming communities in subarctic South Greenland
Using a cultural landscape approach, this study provides an in-depth qualitative analysis of sheep farming communities in subarctic South Greenland. Local and regional impacts of weather and socio-economic shifts in remote regions are explored and, through the inclusion of local Inuit and other voices, this study documents how geographically dispersed subarctic communities are adapting to broader shifts. | Read More
Arctic Education Alliance at USM Summer 2024
The University of Southern Maine Tourism & Hospitality Program has been thrilled to host a group of Greenlandic students and faculty from Campus Kujalleq, a tourism and hospitality college in Qaqortoq, Greenland, this summer as part of academic programming designed to empower students as leaders in sustainable tourism. | Read More
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Crowdsourced mapping of tourism distribution and dynamics in Iceland using Flickr
Social media has become a catalyst for tourism in nature-based destinations, raising management challenges to cope with abrupt visitation growth in sensitive settings. Access to location-based social media data provides valuable material to identify and monitor spatial distribution patterns in tourism visitation and longitudinal trends, especially in vast, remote settings. | Read More
A Culinary Triumph
USM and Edible MAINE’s Cookbook Wins at Gourmand Awards
Thanks to the “Taste of Two Worlds” cookbook, a collaborative masterpiece by the University of Southern Maine and Edible MAINE, the culinary world has its eyes on Maine. | Read More
In this short video, Tracy Michaud, Head of the Department and Associate Professor in the Tourism and Hospitality program at the University of Southern Maine, highlights USM’s Iceland travel courses and the collaborative work she is undertaking with students and faculty from the University of Alaska Fairbanks and Greenland as part of the Arctic Education Alliance.