TY - JOUR
T1 - The need for interdisciplinary research in marine sciences – A MERry outlook
AU - von Hellfeld, Rebecca
AU - Sujiwo, Aryo Sahid
AU - Seeram, Salomi
AU - Olatunji, Paul Oluwatimileyin
AU - Parga Martinez, Karla
AU - Menon, Anjaly Govindankutty
AU - Beckmann, Clara
AU - Marigómez, Ionan
AU - Soto, Manu
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2024 von Hellfeld, Sujiwo, Seeram, Olatunji, Parga Martinez, Govindankutty Menon, Beckmann, Marigómez and Soto.
PY - 2024
Y1 - 2024
N2 - The global oceans are facing a plethora of pressures, leading to cross-national impacts on marine ecosystems, wildlife, and resource users. Interdisciplinarity is integrating knowledge and methods from different disciplines to generate a comprehensive output. Due to the trans-boundary nature of marine habitats and stressors, interdisciplinary research forms the basis to addressing pressing matters in ocean health and conservation. To this end, the Marine Environment and Resources (MER) master programme was developed at the beginning of the century, enabling students to develop a well-rounded understanding of ocean science. The programme has since become a recognised Erasmus Mundus degree and has had almost 400 graduates. In September 2022, the first MER community summit was held, being a landmark for the building of a long-lasting global community to discuss and deal with priority challenges of the UN Decade of Oceans Science. This summit has highlighted that to understand the state of the oceans and improve conservation efforts, international collaboration is required (including those out with the academic realm). The following article aims to highlight the successes of the programme in aiding the development and training of interdisciplinary researchers from a plethora of backgrounds, uniquely suitable for addressing current problems.
AB - The global oceans are facing a plethora of pressures, leading to cross-national impacts on marine ecosystems, wildlife, and resource users. Interdisciplinarity is integrating knowledge and methods from different disciplines to generate a comprehensive output. Due to the trans-boundary nature of marine habitats and stressors, interdisciplinary research forms the basis to addressing pressing matters in ocean health and conservation. To this end, the Marine Environment and Resources (MER) master programme was developed at the beginning of the century, enabling students to develop a well-rounded understanding of ocean science. The programme has since become a recognised Erasmus Mundus degree and has had almost 400 graduates. In September 2022, the first MER community summit was held, being a landmark for the building of a long-lasting global community to discuss and deal with priority challenges of the UN Decade of Oceans Science. This summit has highlighted that to understand the state of the oceans and improve conservation efforts, international collaboration is required (including those out with the academic realm). The following article aims to highlight the successes of the programme in aiding the development and training of interdisciplinary researchers from a plethora of backgrounds, uniquely suitable for addressing current problems.
KW - global science
KW - MER 2030
KW - research outlook
KW - sustainable development goals
KW - UN decade of ocean science
U2 - 10.3389/fmars.2024.1392394
DO - 10.3389/fmars.2024.1392394
M3 - Journal article
AN - SCOPUS:85196543737
SN - 2296-7745
VL - 11
JO - Frontiers in Marine Science
JF - Frontiers in Marine Science
M1 - 1392394
ER -