All students must participate in the Arctic Survival and Safety Course; AS-101.

UNIS takes no responsibilities for activities students choose to do in their spare time. Most students staying on Svalbard will take the opportunity to do some exploring. This requires that students take the necessary safety precautions and make the preparations essential for such trips.

The students will be introduced to some of the safety guidelines that apply on Svalbard through the safety courses when they arrive. The safety guidelines form a foundation, upon which the students may continue to build.

In preparation of your UNIS stay you can have a look at the UNIS Health, Safety and Environment webpages concerning safety issues.

The students that have attended the safety course at UNIS will be allowed to borrow rifles and ammunition for protection against polar bears when out in the field. The student council has also purchased various items of field equipment which students can borrow.

UNIS students trying out survival suits. (Photo: Christian Holgersen/UNIS).