Reykjavík Grapevine - 06.12.2013, Side 54

Danielle Neben from Canada, Zilvinias Balkevicius from Lithuania and Guillermo
Carlos Alvarez from USA have all been taking the 5 week intensive course this
autumn semester.
Danielle is married to an Icelander and works in international banking. She has
been in Iceland since July this year but has been in and out of the country since
1992. “I heard about Mímir on the radio and I decided to take the 5 weeks intensive
course. It suits me perfectly. Going to school four times a week is much better
than once or twice a week.“ Now she is just about to finish level 4, and is pleased
with the course. “Learning Icelandic is vital to intergration into Icelandic society. I
treasure living in Iceland in spite of the economical hardship that the country is not
out of yet. We live in a wonderful neighborhood in Mosfellsbær which is a perfect
environment for family life.“
Zilvinias teaches portrait drawing and has lived in Iceland for six years. He loves
the nature and open spaces the country has to offer. “This is my first time here at
Mímir but I have taken classes in other schools. The five week course could be even
more intensive in my opinion but this is an excellent course. I have learned more in
the last few weeks than I have learned for the last six years“ He is now on level 3
and is happy with the teachers at Mímir. “Ingibjörg, my teacher, is amazing. Always
cheerful and full of energy... that inspires and motivates me to learn.“
Guillermo from Minneapolis, Minnesota, arrived in Kópavogur only six months ago
and is coaching gymnastics at Gerpla. “I started on level 2 since I had already been
studying Icelandic and some Old Norse on my own. I love everything about Iceland
and I love learning the language“. He brought his hybrid bike with him to Iceland.
„Hybrid bike is a mix between a mountain bike and a road bike. I ride my bike as
much as I can but the Reykjavík area is not very bike friendly although, as I am told,
there have been a lot of improvements lately.“ In his group there are people with
diverse backgrounds such as Germany, Denmark, Ukraine, Russia and the Philipp-
ines. „I really like my group and we get a lot of support from each other“. He is also
very happy with the good resources the teachers have access to. „Whenever there
is something I want to study further the teachers always show me a website that is
helpful or give me work books that I can use to practice my Icelandic.“
SPRING TERM 2014
First Courses start January 13th
The main purpose of Mímir-símenntun is to offer courses for adults, develop edu-
cational opportunities and to encourage people in the labour market to practice
continuous education and job development.
The centre focuses on those who have not completed the upper secondary level of
education. The objective is to enable individuals from the target group to obtain an
education and improve their position in the labor market. Another target group is im-
migrants where Mímir offers Icelandic language and orientation programmes with a
wide range of courses at six different levels.
Mímir-símenntun is in 2 locations in Reykjavík. Ofanleiti 2 that is across the
street from Kringlan shopping mall and Öldugata 23 that is in the old city centre.
Mímir-símenntun is a centre for lifelong learning in Reykjavík,
Iceland, the largest of its kind in the country. The centre is a
private corportation, owned by the Icelandic Confederation of
labour (ASÍ).
Ofanleiti 2 Öldugata 23
Students making progress
Mímir-símenntun has students from all over the
world studying Icelandic on six levels.
From left to right: Guillermo, Danielle, Zilvinias.
Career guidance
Increased possibilites in work and the labour market?
Looking into possibilites for education?
To get information about education or the labour market?
To receive help with finding your areas of interest and strengths?
To set yourself goals and to make plans for education or work development?
To get help in managing barriers preventing studying?
Are you interested in:
Free of charge
Mímir-símenntun offers educational and vocational guidance at the
company’s premises in Ofanleiti 2, 103 Reykjavík. Book an interview.
One of the services that Mímir-símenntun offers free of charge is a so called Validation of
non-formal and informal learning.
Validation of non-formal and informal learning is based on the idea that learning does not
only take place inside the formal school system but in all kinds of situations and in all kinds
of contexts. All learning is seen as valuable and should therefore be documented. In
the last few years the concept of validation of real skills and competence has attracted
increasing attention in the western world.
Non-formal learning is a competence that is acquired through studies outside the formal
educational system, for example at public educational centres or courses taken at the
workplace. Informal learning is a competence that the individual has acquired during daily
routine in relation to his/her work, family or leisure time.
Through the validation process an overview will be compiled that can be used in many
ways such as shortening of formal learning, strenghten the position in the job market or as
a tool when choosing a learning path or applying for a job.
Do you have knowledge and experience but not formal education?
How is the validation done?
The first step for the individual is to call Mímir-símenntun and book an interview
with a career counsellor. The career counsellor will guide the individual through the
whole process. The validation process is in five steps. At the beginning the career
counsellor informs about the goal of the validation, role of the accessors and possi-
ble outcome of the process. In the next step the individual gathers appropriate doc-
uments such as job descriptions, certificates, samples and projects. The individual
then validates him/herself in accordance with the qualification requirements. After
the document phase there is an interview with professional assessors where the
status of the individual is considered. The career counsellor is present to assist the
individual during the interview. When it has been decided which competences are
eligible for validation the confirmation of competence is done according to a con-
firmation plan, accepted by the assessor and counsellor. If the outcome fulfills the
requirements made the individual receives a valid document to confirm validation.
No time? No money?
No problem!
Learning at Mímir-símenntun suits those who work
full time.
Evening courses and shorter intensive courses.
Most courses are partly refundable by your labor
union or The Directorate of unemployment.
Mímir-símenntun Ofanleiti 2 103 Reykjavík Sími / Tel. 580 1800 www.mimir.is