MSTS Marine Science, Technology and Society Education Programme

The European Commission adopted Blue Growth - opportunities for marine and maritime sustainable growth - to launch initiatives towards job creation and economic growth [1].

In order to achieve Blue growth, it was highlighted by the EC the need for highly qualified and skilled professionals.

However, several constraints are delaying or even disabling the training and education in several sectors, such as the skill gap between education offer and technology developments and innovation and the lack of communication and cooperation between education and industry.In this context, the present proposal aims at implementing a transdisciplinary Postgraduate programme in Marine Science, Technology, & Society contributing to the development of a new generation of professionals equipped with the knowledge and skills to deal with future challenges in Blue Growth, considering the ecological, technological and social aspects, within a perspective of sustainable development.

The bilateral cooperation between NOVA School of Science and Technology (FCT NOVA), Oslo Metropolitan University (OsloMet) and the Portuguese Institute for Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA) aim at constructing courses and supporting the development of students’ project ideas promoting the transdisciplinarity, the sustainability and the knowledge transfer and innovation.

The mobility of teachers between consortium partners will be important to exchange new knowledge and technologies in marine and maritime issues in order to increase the co-construction of the learning process of students. Also, the national and international internships will provide the opportunity for students’ mobility between all partners of the consortium, increasing student skills and training opportunities in the fields of marine and maritime technology and innovation.

The successful operation of this Postgraduate programme will set a precedent for further collaborations between higher-education institutions, research and governmental and private sector stakeholders of the Blue economy to develop a sustainable Blue Growth and to fulfil the existing education and skill gaps in marine and maritime science, technology and society.

[1] European Commission (2019). The EU Blue Economy Report. 2019. Publications Office of the European Union. Luxembourg.