The University of Malta has formed an alliance with the Universities of Split (Croatia), Western Brittany (France), Kiel (Germany), Gdansk (Poland), and Cádiz (Spain), under the Erasmus+ project, European Universities of the Seas (SEA-EU), to establish a distinctly international, pluri-ethnic, multilingual, and interdisciplinary European University. The strategic alliance aims to encourage excellence in education and research on the marine environment.

The SEA-EU DOC is a spin-off initiative and aims to broaden employment opportunities of doctorate holders by giving visibility to the diversity of marine-related career paths. The Doctoral School of the University of Malta was chosen to represent UM in this initiative. 

As part of Intellectual Output 1, SEA-EU DOC will profile marine-related doctorate holders currently in non-academic employment, in order to raise awareness about the diversity of employment opportunities in the blue economy sector. 

A series of one-to-one interviews (10 written interviews and 2 video interviews) will be held with a selection of PhD graduates from the University of Malta (as a first preference) and other persons who obtained their doctorate from foreign institutions but are active locally. The selected fields of expertise span a diverse range of blue economy sectors such as aquaculture (fish farming or algae aquaculture), marine biotechnology, fisheries, maritime transport, maritime law, marine and coastal tourism, maritime archaeology, maritime heritage, mineral resources, extractive industries (offshore, oil and gas), offshore wind power, blue economy services, shipbuilding and ship repairing industries, coastal defence, waste disposal, environmental monitoring and protection, ocean conservation and Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM).

SEA-EU DOC is reaching out to all those F/I/C/S with marine-related portfolios of research, in order to recommend PhD alumni, who are currently engaged in non-academic marine-related careers. This initiative will provide a unique opportunity to showcase the successes of graduates through the SEA-EU DOC website and other social media platforms. 

Recommendations from F/I/C/S (with contact details of graduates provided with prior consent) are to be sent by email to Intellectual Output 1 contact person, Dr Ritienne Gauci, by Monday 22 February 2021. Please insert SEA-EU DOC in the subject field of the email. The SEA-EU DOC interview requirements are compliant with the University’s Research Ethics Review Procedures.

More information on the SEA-EU and the SEA-EU DOC may be viewed at the following respective portals: the SEA-EU portal and the SEA-EU Doc portal.