Further background

Marine Alliance for Science and Technology for Scotland

Further background

Graduate School

Topic selection

The organisation can propose:
a specific project title or topic for the student to deliver;
a general idea of a business need which requires further development;
a core research theme to be developed by the student into a bespoke project;
an intended outcome for the organisation, thus leaving the design of the research entirely to the student.

Projects should typically be achievable within an 8-16 (including write up) week time frame.

Projects being offered for 2025/2026:

Largo Pier predications project

Largo Planning EIA

Fishing Into the Future – Jargon Busting: Let’s all speak the same language

BP North Sea – Understanding habitat preference and environmental stressors for deep sea sponge aggregations West of Shetland

NatureScot projects:

• Impact of Sporobolus extent at Caerlaverock NNR
• Fair Isle Plankton
• Assessing the effectiveness of management in the South Arran MPA
• Assessing the protection of species habitats under existing spatial restrictions on mobile demersal fishing gear
• Manx shearwater population dynamics to inform conservation management

Projects that were offered in 2024/2025 came from HiDef Ltd, EMEC, FITF, RSPB and NatureScot:

HiDef Ltd projects:

Comparing Inlabru and MRSea for Assessing Seabird Distribution: Investigating the Effects of Animal Density and Spatial Patterns
Comparing Inlabru and MRSea for Modelling Real-World Seabird Distributions
Broad-Scale Distribution Patterns and Temporal Changes Using Aerial Video Survey Data from the North Sea
Investigating the impact of the 2022/23 Highly Pathogenic Avian Flu Virus (HPAIV) H5N1 outbreak on gannet (Morus bassanus) in the British Isles

NatureScot projects:

Other projects:

EMEC – H2HEAT: Mapping investment pathways for renewable energy integration. An island community case study
RSPB – Making Waves: Civic Mediation Pilot Project Evaluation
Fishing Into The Future (FITF) – Jargon Busting – Let’s all speak the same language

Example feedback:

As part of the MMM MSc a GIS based model has been developed to examine the spatial and temporal variability in noise levels around the Shetland Islands, and whether these levels are sufficient to impact marine mammals and whether they exceed levels permitted under the Marine Strategy Framework Directive. Whilst this approach has been trialled elsewhere, including Canada and Australia, it is the first time this modelling approach has been used in the UK.

Project suitability

The relevant Course Director/academic supervisor will help to to refine the proposed topic, ensuring that it meets both the requirements of the organisation and the academic needs of the student.

Organisation and University Supervisors

The organisation is required to provide a supervisor to:

oversee delivery of the project to ensure objectives are being met;
provide the student with a project briefing and expected outputs;
ensure the student is aware of, and complies with legal requirements related to being based in the workplace (if applicable).

The academic co-supervisor is required to:

be available throughout the project for input;
ensure the project is on track via regular contact with the student;
oversee the write-up stages.

Project agreement

All terms are defined by the organisation, university and student at the outset to ensure all parties have agreed the key parameters.These include (but are not limited to):

project title, start date and delivery deadline;
location – will the student be based in the work place, at university or both?
operating procedures and workplace regulations (working hours, health and safety procedures etc;
outputs of the project;
Intellectual Property rights, Non-Disclosure Agreements and project ownership on completion.

Project Delivery

The student is responsible for project completion and delivery to meet the agreed deadline. Assessment of the final academic output remains the responsibility of the University and no input is required from the host in this respect, unless previously agreed. However, hosts may request additional outputs, for example, an executive summary or technical report.

Marine Alliance for Science and Technology for Scotland