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Master Aquaculture and Marine Resource Management (MAM) at Wageningen University
Online open day
Welcome to the presentation of the master Aquaculture and Marine Resource Management. Due to the corona virus, you cannot come to our campus on the master open day. In this presentation, you can read about the Master Aquaculture and Marine Resource Management at Wageningen University. If you have any questions after reading this presentation, please don’t hesitate to contact students or study advisers via the chat.
Coral reefs as socio-ecological systems ‘We shan’t just look underwater but also outside it.’ (Lisa Becking, Resource, 16-01-2020)
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Let’s start with an example of marine research at Wageningen University. Lisa Becking is a researcher at the Marine Animal Ecology Group of Wageningen University. She studies a coral reef near West-Papoea. Many coral reefs worldwide are not doing well. Due to climate change, oceans are warming, which causes bleaching of the corals. However, not all reefs are doing bad. A coral reef near West-Papoea which is doing good, even though those waters are warmer as well. An interesting topic of research!
Lisa and her colleages do not only look at biological aspects of the coral reef. They see humans as an integral part of the ecosystem. Therefore, they also take socio-economic factors into account like the management of nature parks, tourism and local fishermen. Her quote ‘We shan’t just look underwater but also outside it’ also counts for the Master Aquaculture and Marine Resource Management.
https://resource.wur.nl/en/show/Humans-and-nature-go-hand-in-hand.htm
▪ Conserve, restore and use aquatic ecosystems in a sustainable way
▪ Look at entire system: interdisciplinary approach
▪ Tailor made, thesis oriented
Why study Aquaculture and Marine Resource Management?
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MAM (Master Aquaculture and Marine resource management) is all about the sustainable use, conservation and restauration of aquatic ecosystems and resources. Oceans, seas, estuaries, rivers and lakes play a major role in feeding the world, but also provide numerous other goods and services. We want to ensure continued use of the world's aquatic ecosystems and resources. To achieve that, we will need integrated and interdisciplinary strategies towards sustainability. Choose your own path in this master, make your own tailor made program to gain relevant knowledge and skills to start your thesis, your internship and your career.
Why study in Wageningen?
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‘I chose Wageningen for the focus on life sciences and the good rankings’
Wageningen University offers high quality education. It was voted the best university of the Netherlands and on the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, Wageningen was ranked on the 59th place. A key value of education in Wageningen University is personal contact between students and staff. Students from all over the world come to Wageningen to study. We host over 100 nationalities. Many students go abroad for their thesis or internship.
Study advisers
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The master Aquaculture and Marine Resource Management has two study advisers. Vera and Geertje will advise you on your study program and planning. You can come to them with questions or problems, both study-related and personal.
Within the university, there is a support network consisting of student deans, student psychologists and an on campus doctor. Moreover, Student Career Services supports students in their orientation on the labour market. They offer for example workshops and career events.
Structure of the master
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MAM is a two-year master. In the first year you will primarily follow courses. In the second year you will perform research in your thesis, and you will do an internship or minor thesis. Let’s first look at the common courses.
▪ Advanced statistics
▪ Life History of Aquatic Organisms
▪ Trends in Aquaculture
▪ Marine Systems
Common courses
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There are four common courses. You will follow these courses in the first months of your master. • Advanced statistics: statistics needed for scientific research • Life History of Aquatic Organisms: biology and ecology of aquatic organisms • Trends in Aquaculture: newest developments in aquaculture industry • Marine systems: ecological and social complexity of marine systems
One of the common courses: Marine Systems
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Let’s take a closer look at one of the common courses. The course Marine Systems is about the ecological and social complexity of marine systems. Some of the key questions: • What are the key factors challenging resilience of the marine social-ecological system? • How is the system governed? • What would be needed to ensure its sustainability? In this course you will have e.g. tutorials, role-playing games and excursions to the coast in the Netherlands
Your specialization
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Within your master, you will choose a specialization. You will deepen your knowledge on this domain during the specialization courses. These courses might consist of lectures, tutorials, excursions, lab work, field work, project work and self study.
Specialization Aquaculture
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Specialization Aquaculture This specialization is about culturing aquatic organisms like fish and shellfish. You will learn about technical skills, aquaculture system management, socio-economic aspects, physiology, immunology and genetics. For example, you will do a course in which you will set up your own aquaculture production system.
Specialization Marine Resources and Ecology
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Specialization Marine Resources and Ecology This specialization is about the relation of marine/aquatic communities to human interventions. You will learn about ecological interactions, population/fisheries yield models, regulations, management tools and economics.
Specialization Marine Governance
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Specialization Marine Governance This specialization is about legitimate decision-making processes for marine resources. You will learn about social/economic/political processes, public institutions, law and eco certification.
Apply your knowledge in AMC
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In the Academic Master Cluster you get the opportunity to apply the knowledge and skills that you gained during your master.
▪ Do a consultancy project for a company outside the university in ACT
▪ Train your professional skills in MOS
OR
▪ Write and present a PhD proposal in RMC
Become a consultant or an academic researcher
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You can choose between ACT+MOS or RMC.
In ACT (Academic Consultancy Training) you will do a real-life project for an organisation outside the university. As part of a multidisciplinary and international group of students, you will develop innovative solutions and advice to stakeholders accordingly. Of course, an expert and a coach guide you through this process. This is a great opportunity to apply the knowledge you gained in your studies.
During MOS (Modular Skills training), you will acquire relevant professional skills for MSc graduates. You can choose which skills you would like to work on. Some examples are management skills, entrepreneurial skills, project planning and management, career development and planning, negotiation skills, scientific writing skills.
If you consider pursuing a research career, you could choose RMC (Research Master Cluster) instead of ACT+MOS. In this course, you will write and present a PhD proposal.
Conduct scientific research in your thesis
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The common courses and specialization courses will prepare you for your master thesis. In your thesis, you will conduct scientific research at one of the research groups of Wageningen University. Often, you will be a part of a bigger research line, for example contributing to a PhD project during your master thesis. But it is also possible to work on your own research project.
▪ Aquaculture
▪ Dietary protein in tilapia pond nutrition
▪ Marine Resources and Ecology
▪ Ecology and conservation of sea turtles in the Dutch Caribbean
▪ Marine Governance
▪ SUPERSEAS project
Thesis examples
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Aquaculture Master student Kiki shares the story of her thesis: For my Master Aquaculture I did my thesis on tilapia pond nutrition in Zambia. I stayed there for 4 months, from October till January, and I basically had to design and build ponds, feed the fish and measure water quality. My research aim was to see if lowering dietary protein positively impacted pond primary productivity, which in turn would be good for fish growth. This is relevant because of the pricing and sustainability of protein in fish feed.
Marine Resources and Ecology The Caribbean Research Programme of the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) has funded a research project that will study the ecology and conservation of green and hawksbill turtles in the Dutch Caribbean. The proposed multi-disciplinary and international project aims to fill vital gaps in baseline knowledge using an integrated combination of molecular tools, satellite tracking, isotope analysis, and habitat mapping. https://www.wur.nl/en/project/Sea-turtles-in-the-Dutch-Caribbean.htm
Marine Governance The SUPERSEAS research project, short for ‘Supermarket supported area-based management and certification of aquaculture in Southeast Asia’, is a project funded by NWO. The overall aim of SUPERSEAS is to improve the design of area-based management for aquaculture production in order to reduce the social and environmental risks associated with smallholder aquaculture, and improve the terms under which smallholders are incorporated in domestic, regional and international retail-led value chains. https://www.wur.nl/en/project/Supermarket-supported-area-based-management-and-certification-of-aquaculture-in-Southeast-Asia-SUPERSEAS.htm
Get a taste of you future job in the internship
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In you internship, you will apply your academic knowledge and skills at an organization outside the university. You will experience what kind of job you could do after graduating. Wageningen University has connections with organizations all over the world, so many students go abroad during their master.
▪ REEFolution Foundation, Kenia
▪ Aquaculture company Yalelo, Zambia
▪ International Council for the Exploration of the Sea
Internship examples
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REEFolution Foundation, Kenia Overfishing causes a decline in herbivorous fish, which causes algal blooms. This way, coral reefs are smothered. Corals are also threatened by destructive fishing methods and coral bleaching. REEFolution makes artificial reefs using small bits of coral and tying them to structures called ‘trees’. They aim to create a reef that is as diverse as possible, so it attracts other fish and animal species. https://resource.wur.nl/en/show/Diving-diving-and-more-diving.htm
Yalelo, Zambia Aquaculture company Yalelo asked an intern of MAM to research the following questions: How many fish can we produce without harming the water quality? What do we need to change to comply with the criteria for the ASC consumer label for responsibly farmed fish? https://resource.wur.nl/en/show/Luxury-is-relative-in-Zambia.htm
International Council for the Exploration of the Sea Conventionally, fisheries management aims to modify the behaviour of fishers by command and control, i.e. laws and regulations, often in a very top-down centralised way. Recent insights from behavioural economics have called that rational-agent model in question: people are boundedly rational, assign more importance to losses than to gains, and are motivated by social norms of peers even if they are not in line with what laws prescribe. Within ICES (International Council for the Exploration of the Sea) there is a working group called WGMARS (Working Group for Maritime Systems), in which scientists from the Netherlands, Germany, Ireland, Norway, Australia and the USA are investigating how insights from behavioural economics can improve fisheries management and policy in practice.
Life after MAM
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Job opportunities
What can you do after finishing MAM? Some graduates go into research, others will work for example at NGO’s or other organisations. Many alumni find a job outside of The Netherlands. Let’s look at some examples of alumni.
Bastiaan
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▪ Major: Marine Governance
▪ Employer: Consultancy firm ‘Milieu’
▪ Job: Policy adviser
“I work as a policy adviser at the consultancy firm ‘Milieu’. Here my main activities are assisting a project which investigates to what extent the different members of the European Union have executed the first articles of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD).” Bastiaan works with people from many backgrounds: marine biology experts, economists and lawyers.
Eline
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▪ Major: Marine Resources and Ecology
▪ Employer: Arcadis
▪ Job: Marine ecologist
“My everyday job consists of environmental impact assessments and other nature-related assessments. These are mostly for off-shore projects such as wind farms, platforms and cables. However, I also work on projects related to the MSFD for the European Union and other water-related topics.” Eline likes her job, because she says it is the perfect combination of science and practical applications.
Marc
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▪ Major: Aquaculture
▪ Employer: Fish farm, Zambia
▪ Job: Fish farmer
“The company I work for is one of the biggest fish farms in Africa, and hopefully we will be the biggest one next year. In my current position, I am responsible for everything that happens on the lake. The work is amazing! No day is the same; one day I am diving and the other day I am doing some calculations in order to find out if we are doing well. Or I am taking measurements in the laboratory. I have 250 employees, so I am also fairly busy with steering and training people and the implementation of procedures.”
Check the career booklet for more examples! https://www.wur.nl/upload_mm/b/4/2/c07b9b86-f486-428c-a3f1-09466c601026_Booklet-alumni-MScAquaculture%26MarineResourceManagement.pdf
Admission
▪ Relevant BSc degree
▪ Mathematics, statistics, ecology
▪ GPA: 70%
▪ Fluency in English
▪ You can start admission procedure before graduating
▪ www.wur.eu/apply
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You need a relevant bachelor degree related to biology, ecology or environmental sciences to be admitted to this master. Knowledge of mathematics, statistics and ecology is required. Non-WUR students need a GPA (grade point average) of 70% or higher. You will need fluency in English: in speaking, listening and writing.
www.wur.eu/apply
▪ Chat with study advisers and students
▪ Check our FAQ’s about application, housing, scholarships, visa, costs, introduction days, Wageningen, student for a day, corona and more
▪ Take a virtual tour with one or more of our students who will show you their life
What else can you do at this open day?
▪ Watch videos with tips for choosing a study programme, about student life and study experiences
▪ Website: www.wur.eu/mam
▪ Contact a student: [email protected]
▪ Contact a study adviser: [email protected]
Find more information after the open day
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Want to know more after the open day has finished? You can take a look at our website. You can also ask your questions to a current student or to a study adviser via e-mail.
www.wur.eu/mam
Good luck with choosing a master!
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We hope to welcome you some day
