Young people share what they have learned with the world

An important focus, alongside the scientific training, is networking, an area the Nippon Foundation supports with further programmes. In concrete terms, when the scholarship holders return to their home countries, they have the opportunity to take part in exchange programmes and scientific meetings through the alumni network programme NANO. This year’s graduation ceremony will also provide the first opportunity to network with other young scientists: together with the graduates from the Centre of Excellence, 23 participants in the so-called floating university will receive their graduation certificates. On Saturday, their month-long expedition on board the research vessel Polarstern will come to an end in Bremerhaven. Once again, the Polarstern has proven its value as the ideal ship not only for research, but also for training the next generation. “Where else can so many young researchers learn about the wide variety of oceanographic methods and how to adapt them to their needs?” asks expedition leader Prof Karen Wiltshire. The participants used the icebreaker’s return journey from the Antarctic, starting in Port Stanley (Falkland Islands), to learn more about the interactions between the ocean, atmosphere and the climate, and about how they can personally contribute to active, global climate protection. The scholarship holders learned in a ‘hands-on’ way that science and sharing knowledge are inseparable, through video links with participating schools in Portugal, Japan, Ireland, Great Britain and Germany, which allowed them to talk directly to students in the classroom about their impressions of the trip and what they had learned about the importance of the ocean. In Leipzig, they supported a climate conference for 500 school pupils in the federal state of Saxony with a video call that involved lively discussions. From the ship, expedition leader Wiltshire presented the latest findings from the trip directly to a climate symposium at the 'Klimahaus' in Bremerhaven.

The two groups of young scientists will present their projects at the joint event on Saturday afternoon. Among the guests will be Bremen’s Science Senator Eva Quante-Brandt, Bremerhaven’s mayor Torsten Neuhoff, and Member of Parliament Ernst-Dieter Rossmann (from the Pinneberg constituency, which the island Helgoland is part of), as well as instructors from the programme and colleagues from the Alfred Wegener Institute.

Cooperating organisations

POGO - Partnership for Observation of the Global Oceans
Nippon Foundation
AtlantOS - Optimising and Enhancing the Integrated Atlantic Ocean Observing Systems
National University Galway
REKLIM - Helmholtz Climate Initiative
PORTWIMS - Portugal Twinning for Innovation and Excellence in Marine Science and Earth Observation