Three internship positions available through the Institute of Aquaculture

Three internship positions are available through the Institute of Aquaculture, University of Stirling, and beginning from early August 2016 to January 2017 (6 months approximately) under the recently awarded Newton Caldas Fund project entitled:

IMPROVING LOCAL MANAGEMENT OF TROPICAL COASTAL RESOURCES IN THE FACE OF CLIMATE CHANGE FOR ECONOMIC WELLBEING OF LOCAL AND VULNERABLE COMMUNITIES

Students interested should be recently graduated or currently doing a MSc or PhD on the following or similar subjects: freshwater or marine ecology, aquaculture or biology.

A basic level of Spanish would be desirable but not required.

The internship will be undertaken in The Colombian Caribbean (details on the topic below) and all travelling and subsistence expenses will be covered by the project as well as a small stipend for extra expenses.

Please provide a CV and a cover letter with your actual position and why the project interests you.

The shortlisted candidates will be invited to a formal interview and final decisions made within the next 15 days.

Please contact Dr. Sonia Rey (sonia.reyplanellas@stir.ac.uk), Professor Dave Little (d.c.little@stir.ac.uk) in Stirling or Professor James M Mair (j.m.mair@hw.ac.uk) in Edinburgh for more details.

Short summary of the project

Colombian estuaries and marine ecosystems play a key role in food security and economic prosperity of coastal communities, many of which are recognised as vulnerable (e.g. fishermen, victims of violence, Ethnic Minority Groups) and who are part of the 40% of world population whose economic prosperity and well-being depend on coastal ecosystems. The Colombian government now allows use of these natural resources to boost local economy, but to maintain sustainable development and improve welfare of local communities we must ensure that coastal ecosystems function properly and that communities use them sustainably.

This project focuses on coastal biodiversity, ecosystem services and resources management for sustainable development. We will create a research based programme that incorporates training and management. Research will promote inclusive approaches and integral participation to develop management solutions that incorporate local practice. Training will promote sustainable management of coastal resources for economic wellbeing of local and vulnerable communities.

The elected students will be part of the training (workshops for local community in August and December) and will be able to collect social and environmental data between the training, as part of pilot studies to be developed with local communities.

That training and interaction with local communities will be preferably in Spanish.

The base of the internship will be in the Colombian Caribbean city of Cartagena, a UNESCO cultural world heritage site.

Students will live in the city and will work at Universidad de Cartagena, the first public University in the Colombian Caribbean, and will interact with local university students and local communities in estuaries and marine coastal environments.