Abstract:
The Department of Science, Technology and Higher Education requires platforms to “attract young researchers to the region and retain them by exciting their interest in aspects of global change”. Working in conjunction with SAEON's ASCA array, SEAmester introduces marine science as an applied and cross-disciplinary field to students. Its long?term vision is aimed at building capacity within the marine sciences by co?ordinating cross?disciplinary research projects through a highly innovative programme. The strength of SEAmester is that postgraduate students combine theoretical classroom learning with the application of this knowledge through ship-based and hands-on research. The state?of?the?art research vessel, SA Agulhas II, provides the ideal teaching and research platform for SEAmester; its size, comfort and shipboard facilities allow large groups of students and lecturers to productively interact over a period of 10 days. Started in 2016, SEAmester is now into its fifth year. Furthermore, this application will provide an update on the challenges and successes experienced by the SEAmester programme and more importantly provide an assessment on how SEAmester has influenced the lives of many of its students.
