MSC Foundation Helps Train the Next Generation of Marine Scientists

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UNITED STATES – For these BAMSI students, the classroom has moved outside.

Instead of reading about coral reefs in a textbook, they’re spending their summer working side by side with experts at the MSC Foundation’s Coral Conservation Center.

The six-week internship gives them a chance to put what they’ve learned in school into practice.

While in Miami covering the MSC Foundation’s conference on Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease, we caught up with BAMSI Aquaponics Manager Cameron Lightbourn.

He says hands-on experience like this is essential, giving students the opportunity to apply what they learn in the classroom to real-world conservation efforts.

Cameron Lightbourn – Aquaponics Manager, BAMSI
“Our students do a six-week internship during the summer to get real-world experience. With the Coral Conservation Center, they’re able to get hands-on training in coral restoration, taking classroom learning and transferring it to real-world situations.”

Throughout the program, the students participated in a wide range of educational and professional development activities.

They attended lectures on coral biology, reef ecology and restoration techniques, gained experience maintaining coral nurseries and support facilities, and assisted with guest engagement programs.

Lightbourn says programs like this also help students see that marine science can be a viable career path.

Cameron Lightbourn – Aquaponics Manager, BAMSI
“We need opportunities for them to see career pathways. They go to the doctor, they can see a doctor. They go to get their car checked, they can see a mechanic. But they don’t often get to see careers in marine science, so thankfully, MSC provides those opportunities.”

Second-year BAMSI students Danielle Mason and Jenna Johnson successfully completed the internship at Ocean Cay, where they worked alongside the foundation’s marine conservation team while earning academic credit toward their Associate of Science degrees in Marine Science.

Lightbourn says the program should encourage parents to take their children’s interest in marine science seriously.

Cameron Lightbourn – Aquaponics Manager, BAMSI
“We have bleaching, we have diseases, and that’s going to affect every aspect of Bahamian life as we know it, especially the tourism industry. We need professionals in the marine science sector to gain this experience, take that experiential learning and carry the mantle forward so they can solve the problems of the future.”