Friday, 22 June 2018 The International School of Marine Conservation Sciences (isMCS) started

Yesterday marked the start of the International School Of Marine Conservation Sciences (isMCS), organized jointly by  University of Primorska (UP FAMNIT Department of Biodiversity), Oregon State University (USA) and Blue World Institute of Marine Research and Conservation (Croatia), under the umbrella of the Society for Conservation Biology, European Section.

This year's meeting hosts 20 students, coming from 11 countries (Croatia, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Montenegro, Spain, Sweden and the United States of America).

The program started with welcome speeches from Faculty dean Prof. Klavdija Kutnar, Head of the Department of Biodiversity, Assoc. Prof. Elena Bužan, and organizers (Prof. Selina Heppell, Assoc. Prof. Scott Heppell and Assoc. Prof. Bojan Lazar). Shortly afterwards, the students were already immersed in the introductory lectures.

The next 10 days will bring a packed program. Through lectures, invited speakers, field and lab work, as well as computer exercises on spatial aspects of conservation, the students will delve deep into different biological, policy and human dimension aspects of marine conservation. The first week, the program will be based in Koper, Slovenia; during the last three days the school will move to different locations in Croatia. You can read more about the event here: http://ismcs.famnit.upr.si/en

We warmly welcome all the participants and wish them a pleasant stay and successful work.