Skagerak drone photo — “Students realise that being in charge of a research vessel for a day is something truly unique. Their learning curve is huge,” says Sebastiaan Swart, Professor of Oceanography, Department of Marine Sciences.

Photo: Diego Garcia

Marine sciences course on R/V Skagerak attracts students from all over the world

Published

9 December 2024

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Here you go! Run a huge research vessel for a day! The ‘Marine Project – From Idea to Action’ course throws students from all over the world directly into the challenges of ship research onboard the research vessel Skagerak– an educational method that has proven to be a success.

It's not every day that brand new students are given the responsibility for a giant research vessel. But on the Master's Programme in Marine Sciences' very first course “Marine project – From idea to action”, students get a crash course in how to use the instruments on board the University of Gothenburg's large research vessel Skagerak.

“It's really amazing to be on board Skagerak! It's also great that students from different marine disciplines such as geology, biology, chemistry, and oceanography work together. You approach the project problem in different ways, get to understand different aspects, and learn from each other,” says Alexander Ahl, master's student specialising in marine biology, Department of Marine Sciences.

Students of aft deck — Many of the students on the Master's Programme in Marine Sciences have never been on board a research vessel as large as the R/V Skagerak before. Therefore, it’s the first time that many get to do basic sampling at sea with the instruments on board.

Photo: Maria Burzlaff

Coming to Sweden for R/V Skagerak

The course is the most popular in the Master's Programme in Marine Sciences according to evaluations. In the course, students create their own research projects to solve marine challenges and are responsible for their own operation with minimal support from the course leaders.

The course covers everything from coding data, to building experiences on the ship, to work with data, and then analysing it to show results.

“The course is popular because students love the idea of the cruise on the new Skagerak! That’s quite unique! We have a lot of foreign students who come to Gothenburg and Sweden just for the opportunity to have access to a research vessel as big as Skagerak with its capabilities. They don’t get that in their home countries. They realise that their education will be unique,” says Sebastiaan Swart, Professor of Oceanography and Course Director.

Sebastiaan Swart holding up small bottles for a group of students in the hangar — “Students are exposed to subjects they may never have encountered before, such as marine biologists who, through oceanography, are exposed to the physical aspects of the ocean,” says Sebastiaan Swart, Professor of Oceanography, Department of Marine Science

Photo: Maria Burzlaff

Skills for a successful career

An important aspect of the course is dealing with the unforeseen problems that arise on a ship and how students adjust to make sure that they still have a successful voyage at the end of the day. Something that can mean a huge learning curve during the course of the project.

“It's really a hands-on way of learning. We made some mistakes, got a bit frustrated, but were able to laugh at ourselves in our group. We really learnt a lot from having so much freedom on board the Skagerak,” says Alexander Ahl.

Students stand hunched over instrument — Alexander Ahl's project team investigated a flourescence maxima, which is a layer of phytoplankton in the centre of the water column. They investigated the distribution in time and space in Byfjorden and Havstensfjorden on the Bohus Coast.

Photo: Maria Burzlaff

According to Sebastiaan Swart, the most important thing the students are learning is problem solving – how to measure something in the environment to get the data to solve a specific question, and to think critically about data as researchers would in science.

“But the course is also about the soft skills of communication and social problem solving, how to work together with people. This is a great way to set you up for the next steps in life and to prepare for a successful marine career,” says Sebastiaan Swart.