Field courses in the Aegean
Archipelagos Field courses
For over 20 years, Archipelagos Institute of Marine Conservation has been dedicated to protecting the Greek Seas through hands-on research and conservation. As a vital part of these efforts, our team offers field course experiences to students from universities all over the world. These courses can be part of a taught university module or can take place independently of their university program.
Our unique learning experiences provide students with the opportunity to study on board our research boats, including the Aegean Explorer, Pinelopi, Naftilos and Okeanos. All courses provide participants with the chance to develop skills using a wide range of state-of-the-art equipment, while taking part in a variety of conservation projects. Efforts include monitoring of marine mammal populations, mapping of protected marine habitats, research in microplastic pollution, seagrass meadows, coastal habitat biodiversity, blue carbon, climate change and more.
These field courses provide students with the opportunity to apply theoretical knowledge to real-world scenarios. Archipelagos provides the resources to answer scientific questions and to practice hands-on marine research. Courses are adaptable to suit the interest of each group and can take place on the islands of Samos, Lipsi, Ikaria and other Aegean islands.
Watch our video on the courses carried out jointly with 2 of Archipelagos’ university partners, the University of Essex and Cardiff University, UK, which have incorporated the Archipelagos’ field courses into their final year course curricula.
Programs
Archipelagos Institute of Marine Conservation offers exciting programs for student groups with a desire to acquire hands-on field experience in applied research and conservation. Join our team in the Aegean Sea to start building this learning opportunity today.
- Hands on work with land and sea-based surveys.
- Applied research skills in field action, such as using state of the art oceanographic equipment, Remote Operated Vehicles (ROV) and drones;
- Map and monitor the distribution of protected habitats and species, such as marine mammals, or Posidonia seagrass and coralligenous habitats.
- Surveying experience using kayak and snorkel based methods;
- Assess the anthropogenic impact on our coastal ecosystems.
- Interview based surveys to record Local Ecological Knowledge (LEK)
Example Programs
These environmental field research programs are part of the year-round activities and research of the International School of the Sea which is composed of researchers staying and working at our research bases, actively participating in the conservation activities of the Archipelagos Institute.
Bachelor's students from the Wisconsin University
For over 20 years Archipelagos Institute of Marine Conservation has been defending the Greek Seas through hands-on research and conservation. As a vital part of these efforts our team offers field course experience to students from universities all over the world. These courses can be part of a taught university module or can take place independently of their university programme.
This unique learning experience lends the opportunity to study on board Archipelagos’ four research boats, the Aegean Explorer, Pinelopi, Naftilos and Okeanos. All courses provide participants with the chance to formulate skills using a wide range of state-of-the-art equipment, while taking part in a variety of conservation projects. Efforts include monitoring of marine mammal populations, mapping of protected marine habitats, research in microplastic pollution, seagrass meadows, coastal habitat biodiversity, blue carbon, climate change and more.
These field courses provide students with the opportunity to apply theory learned in university courses and apply it to the real world. Archipelagos provides the resources to answer scientific questions and practice hands-on marine research. Courses are adaptable to suit the interest of each group and dependently can take place on the islands of Samos, Lipsi, Ikaria and other Aegean islands.
Watch here a video on the courses carried out jointly with 2 of Archipelagos’ university partners, the University of Essex and Cardiff University, UK, which have incorporated the Archipelagos’ field courses into their final year course curricula.
Emmanuel College in Boston, Massachusetts
An important educational action was completed recently in collaboration with the Department of Political Science of Emmanuel College, USA, and with focus on the area of the small islands of Agathonisi, Arki and Lipsi.
“This study abroad program is running for 10 years and aims to promote the area of the Eastern Mediterranean as a nodal field in relation to geopolitics, protection and culture. This year we joined forces with Archipelagos Institute and added a new important aspect – that for environmental conservation” says the Dr Petros Vamvakas, Assistant Professor in Department of Political Sciences and International Relations of Emmanuel College in Boston and Director of Institute of Eastern Mediterranean Studies at Emmanuel College. He adds “today the protection is not an issue of war power, but soaks through aspects of the climate change and human insertion in natural habitat in relation to wild financial competition”. The team of students from EC IEMS had the opportunity to gain experiences investigating and reading these aspects during the research on board the Aegean Explorer.
Combining the research in marine ecosystems with the analysis of political aspects, the common goal of this new important collaboration is the continuous multidisciplinary investigation of environmental,
cultural, political, social and financial angle in important islands of Aegean Sea where the Archipelagos Institute is active for over 25 years.
Culver Academy
The Archipelagos Institute of Marine Conservation has hosted for the second year 36 students and teachers from Culver Academy – a high school from Indianapolis, USA. They traveled more than 10,000 kilometers to come to the Aegean with the aim of taking part in applied environmental protection actions at the Archipelagos Institute and getting to know the unique biodiversity of the Aegean.
The Archipelagos Institute, offers customizable courses developed for universities and specialized schools abroad through field courses. These are taught on the research bases and ships of the Archipelagos. This is a great achievement for the Archipelago, but also particularly important for the Aegean, which entered the world map of education in applied environmental research.
This experience is designed to prepare the new generation of environmental scientists, while also emphasizing the importance of hands-on learning.
University of Cardiff
Since 2007, Cardiff University teaches and students have attended a Marine Geography and Conservation Field Course annually with Archipelagos Institute of Marine Conservation in the Aegean Sea, Greece.
The 2 institutions work closely together for the implementation of a joint Oceanographic Research Course in the marine region between Samos, Fourni and Ikaria.
In the 3 research boats, they use new technologies and relevant research protocols developed by the Archipelagos Institute. They will be working with seagrasses, nearshore food webs and marine mammals and learning new skills in marine sonar and GIS mapping, distance sampling, social sciences and quantitative data analysis. Students are trained by expert scientists and researchers from both institutions.
Through such activities, we aim to develop new research practices that result in the efficient conservation of marine ecosystems and fishstocks. At the same time we also aim to encourage the new generation of scientists who will be called upon to manage the major environmental problems of the European seas including climate change, fisheries, marine pollution and managing conservation conflicts.
University of Essex
The Life Sciences Department of the University of Essex, England and the Archipelago Institute, Greece have been in partnership for over 22 years. An important product of this synergie has been an innovative course on “Applied Maritime Protection,” in the Eastern Aegean. This course is taught through field activities in the Aegean and is now a compulsory tuition course for University of Essex marine biology seniors.
This innovative field training designed by the Archipelago Institute and over many years evolved with the cooperation of other specialized European universities and with the right equipment, aims for the best education of future scientists based on the special conditions of our time. As marine ecosystems nowadays change more drastically due to human intervention and climate change, we must adapt at a relatively fast pace to new conditions, make the most of new technologies technology and to explain our conclusions in real time, giving the new generations a chance scientists to take part in these.
The “Applied Maritime Protection” course is planned to be offered in universities from many regions of the world. It constitutes the basis for the exchange of know-how between international environmental stakeholders and universities, with whom we share a common concern for the immediate and essential need of protecting our seas.
At the same time, the common goal of all of us through these educational actions is to contribute so that the new generation of scientists who will be called in to manage the important environmental problems of European seas, will have such skills x or of new technologies, but also understanding that the margins
for receiving effective ones meters have narrowed suffocating. We can no longer move at a political or academic pace alone, but it is necessary to solve the problems in real time, before the damage to our seas and natural environment becomes irreversible.
