Marine Institute bursary students showcase their work at a poster presentation

Twenty-one undergraduate students involved with the Marine Institute's Bursary Programme showcased their work experience at a poster presentation day at the Marine Institute Headquarters in Oranmore. The students have been involved with projects ranging from archival work to fisheries monitoring over a period of eight to twelve weeks.

"The students design and display posters to illustrate the work they have done throughout their placement and discuss it with their peers and staff at the Marine Institute," said Helen McCormick, Bursar Programme Coordinator and Senior Laboratory Analyst at the Marine Institute.

"The standard of posters was very high and continues to improve each year, and the students were enthusiastic to share their work and the skills and experience they had gained over the duration of the programme," she said.
A panel of judges reviewed the posters and selected winners based on creative design and students' knowledge of their study area.

The overall winners were Emma Horgan and Andrew Enright (NUI Galway) who had been working on archiving shark, pelagic and deep-sea fish data and reports.

Two students based in the Marine Institute's Newport Catchment Facility, Donel Manapsal (IT Sligo) who had been working on salmon and trout ecology, and Emma Drohan (IT Tralee) who investigated macroinvertebrate data from the Burrishoole catchment, were both awarded prizes.

Cian McSweeney (NUI Galway) who has focused on improving data quality in fisheries surveys and Leanne Oliver (NUI Galway) who has been sampling Nephrops for fishery stock assessments also received prizes for their work in the Fisheries Ecosystems Advisory Services team.

Communications and education bursar Danielle Crowley (UCD), who researched ways to educate the public on ocean literacy issues such as climate change, also received a prize.

The Marine Institute Bursary programme is a highly sought after work experience programme which runs for eight to twelve weeks during the summer months. Students gain valuable experience in various areas of marine science and the programme is a gateway to the Irish marine research sector.

The programme is open to students who have completed at least two years' study in a relevant discipline and is advertised on marine.ie in February every year.