Meet Christian – Master’s student in marine sciences
Already as a child, Christian Nilsson knew he wanted to be a marine biologist. He is currently writing his master's project on how the species composition in Kosterfjorden has changed over the last three decades – something that suits his special interest in deep-sea biology.
What are you doing right now?
“I’m doing my degree project. It's 60 credits, which is a full academic year. I'm quite interested in research and wanted to give myself as much time as possible on the project, have time to make mistakes and learn from them.”
“My project is a part of the Koster Seafloor Observatory project, and is about the range of species at greater depths in the Kosterfjord. I’m developing machine learning models that recognise marine species in videos, mainly species that live attached to hard surfaces, such as lima mussels and anemones, but also how their habitat has changed over the last thirty years. We hope to detect any changes as the oceans get warmer and salinity drops, and how this affects animals that are sedentary and can't move to colder, saltier places – what happens to them, and how that affects the ecosystem.”
How did you find your thesis project?
“When I was about to do my bachelor's thesis, I contacted Thomas Dahlgren, a researcher who then taught deep-sea biology, and asked what opportunities were available if I wanted to do my project on deep-sea biology. I got to work with his colleague Helena Wiklund on a project where I described a newly discovered deep-sea species.”
“I found my master’s project in the Department's Degree Project Catalogue, and then contacted the researcher in charge, Matthias Obst. We discussed what I was interested in, and together we decided what I should do in my master's project.”
What happens after graduation?
“I would love to continue in academia as a doctoral student, but since my interest in deep-sea biology is quite particular, I can see myself working until the perfect doctoral project appears. Through my master's project, I have come into contact with many different actors and authorities where there are job opportunities, and it’s enjoyable to be able to work with what you are passionate about. In my field of interest, there are fewer opportunities to do a PhD in Sweden and in the end, it’s the project that decides, rather than where in the world the project is located.”
What made you want to become a marine scientist?
“We had a project in seventh grade where you had to write a letter to your future self, and I wrote that I wanted to become a marine biologist. I did a lot of sport fishing as a kid and as a teenager I became more interested in catching many different species. This required me to find out about the species' specific way of life and environment, and I think it was from there that I developed a deeper fascination with the sea. I went to Gullmarsgymnasiet's marine biology programme, and then I started studying the bachelor's programme in marine science at the University of Gothenburg.”
Anything particularly good about the Master's programme?
“I really liked the first course ‘Marine project - from idea to action’, where you were really flung into marine science. In the course we learned programming, and together with other groups we planned our own research expedition with the large research vessel Skagerak, where we had to collect and analyse our own data. The courses in the programme have a lot of lab work, projects and methods, literature searches, and problem-based learning. There is a lot of personal responsibility to first figure out what you want to know and then finding it out – something I benefited a lot from in my third master's course, where I chose to do an internship in a research project.”
“Compared to the Bachelor programme, the Master programme is much more applied, using your skills and knowledge, and working independently. It prepares you very well for a doctoral student position, for example, or a job position where you also work independently.”
Do you have any tips for those thinking of applying?
“It's important to be forward and make contacts to create opportunities. There are many leading researchers who teach on the programme, and it’s important to find a lecturer or a subject that you like and then make contact for a possible internship or degree project. For example, my master's project gave me the opportunity to attend the SBDI Days conference, where I met many inspiring people, made new contacts in my research field, and got ideas on how to improve my master's thesis.”
Translation from Swedish: Annika Wall
