International Centre for Island Technology - The Orkney Campus

In 1989 the International Centre for Island Technology (ICIT) was established in the Old Academy in Stromness, the second largest town in the Orkney Islands. This location provides a unique teaching and research facility and has been pivotal in the development of the University's ongoing environmental research programme. Issues of sustainability and the use of technologies are critical to much of this research which has focused on areas such as:

• Marine resource and coastal zone management
• Renewable energy and energy planning
• Waste minimisation and management
• Fish stock and habitat enhancement technologies
• Conflicts of use in marine and coastal estates
• Biodiversity and marine conservation
• Diving science

Research projects

Research is linked directly to our MSc courses and include:

• EU funded projects on coastal zone management (including conflict resolution in the Galapagos Islands), and on energy planning and tidal current energy generation
• Research into innovative seabed mapping techniques
• A Darwin Initiative research into marine biodiversity
• EU Northern Peripheries Programme funded research exploring potential public sector applications of IT in peripheral areas
• A number of other projects relating to waste, the abandonment of offshore installations, fisheries and conflicts arising from multiple use of marine and coastal environments

Additional information

The Orkney base provides a unique teaching and learning experience. On the doorstep the range of uses of the coastal zone are displayed. Scapa Flow – better known for its strategic importance in two world wars – is the location of one of the largest oil terminals in the UK (on the island of Flotta). It supports an active fishery and fish farming industry and understandably has become one of the most popular diving resorts in Europe. The University Dive Unit is also based in ICIT and is recognised as one of the UK\'s leading scientific diving centres.

The conservation interests in Orkney are widespread with the cliffs providing breeding and nursery grounds for seabirds and numerous sites designated for their conservation and cultural value.