The course offered an introduction to multidisciplinary oceanographic research techniques with part of the course on board the Danish research vessel, Dana. It was designed to give students sea-going experience and a practical introduction to ocean sampling. The course consisted of two days preparative classroom teaching and training, then five days sampling on the ship between Tromsø, Norway and Hirtshals, Denmark, followed by several days working up the data collected and finally a poster session. Teaching covered five themes in marine science: hydrography, chemistry, plankton ecology, fisheries and geology.

The instructors from EUROFLEETS2 partners were:

Dr. John Boyd (Marine Institute, Ireland; fisheries),

Dr. Andrea Caburlotto (OGS, Italy; geology),

Dr. Pahula McGrane (Marine Institute, Ireland; plankton ecology),

Dr. Colin Stedmon (Technical University of Denmark; course coordinator & nutrient chemistry),

Prof. André Visser (Technical University of Denmark; physics).

The course was open for both MSc and PhD students enrolled at European universities and the call for applications received a total of 198 applicants for the 18 places available. The students selected were enrolled in degree programs across universities in 8 different European countries, 8 as MSc and 10 as PhD. The selection was also diverse with 11 different nationalities and a 10:8 split between female and male participants. Many of the participants had not been on an oceanographic research vessel before, despite studying marine science. As such the course offered a great hands-on experience where theory and techniques learnt in the classroom were put into practice.

On board Dana the students were split into four groups and rotated between each theme each day. Biological oceanographic theme covered sampling for plankton and measuring chlorophyll concentrations using a spectrophotometer. Physical measurements included operating the CTD, coordinating water sampling between the groups, communicating with the bridge, and sampling for salinity calibrations. The chemical oceanography component covered sampling and analysis of inorganic nutrients in seawater (nitrate, nitrite, ammonium, phosphate and silicate) and the geological sampling involved box coring and characterisation of surface sediments. Finally three pelagic fish hauls were carried out during transit between stations. On the whole sampling was carried out in the morning and the samples and data were worked up and analysed during the afternoon while steaming.

Course participants on-board Dana before arriving in Hirtshals, Denmark after five days at sea.

The end of course evaluation by the students was very positive with 13 students rating their overall satisfaction in the highest category, "Very Satisfied", four were "Satisfied" and one "Neutral". When asked if they thought the course was beneficial for their career, all fully agreed, and the majority would not have been able to attend had EUROFLEETs2 funding not helped cover expenses. This indicates that the initiative successfully reached out to a segment of the European marine science community providing specific practical experience and expanding their European network.

Collage of the activities carried out during the course: first aid and safety at sea training; CTD and plankton sampling; surface sediment characterisation; measurement and identification of fish catch; plankton microscopy; nutrient sampling and poster presentation of results.