www.sams.ac.uk
News release
Date: 02/12/2015
Experts say aquaculture students are on the right course
A top academic course in sustainable aquaculture that works hand-in-hand with industry has been held up as a
model for the future by two internationally renowned science communication consultants.
Dr Alex Bielak, Associated Fellow at the United Nations University, and Louise Shaxson, Research Fellow at the
Overseas Development Institute, have praised the new Joint Master Degree at the Scottish Association for Marine
Science (SAMS) for its ‘phenomenal networks’ and links between research and industry.
The consultants were at SAMS last week to deliver an intensive communications masterclass as part of the two-year
Aquaculture Environment and Society (ACES) Erasmus + programme, run through the University of the Highlands and
Islands (UHI).
ACES, one of Europe’s top-ranked academic programmes, attracts elite marine science graduates from across the
globe to study at SAMS UHI, in Oban, as well as the universities of Nantes and Crete. This allows them to study a
range of specialisms, including finfish and shellfish aquaculture, and create contact networks across Europe. Fullyfunded scholarships are available to high academic achievers.
Following the well-received three-day course in science communication, knowledge translation and brokering, Dr
Bielak said: “These students are international but no matter where they come from they must be multi-lingual; they
must learn to communicate with different audiences like industry, media, policy makers and the public, not just their
peers.
“We really challenged them but they were receptive to being taken out of their comfort zone.
“This is a very talented group of students who are incredibly privileged to have access to the Erasmus scholarship,
one of the most generous scholarships I have come across.”
ACES works alongside partners such as Sainsburys, the Shellfish Association of Great Britain and the European
Aquaculture Society to ensure the course is relevant to industry.
Ms Shaxson agreed this was a strength of the course, saying: “There is an increasing pressure on public sector
funding and people ask why industry is not taking up the recommendations of some research. Industry is looking for
different approaches and ideas and I think this type of course will be successful in doing that.
“The students are phenomenally lucky to have this opportunity but they have to be extremely talented to get on the
programme.”
ACES is currently accepting applications for the 2016 – 2017 academic year. The course has been specifically
designed alongside industry to address major scientific, technological and social obstacles facing the sustainable
development of the global aquaculture industry.
Course leader Dr Liz Cook of SAMS said: It has been a real privilege to have Alex and Louise on our course. Their
expertise fits in perfectly with one of the key aims of ACES: to improve the exchange and communication of
aquaculture research between science and industry.
“Our students were really challenged but came away from the three-day course with a much deeper understanding
of where science fits into the bigger picture and how they can best communicate their research.”
Ends
www.sams.ac.uk
Picture caption: ACES course leader Dr Liz Cook, left, welcomes Louise Shaxson and Dr Alex Bielak to SAMS ahead of
their three-day science communication masterclass.
Contact details
Euan Paterson
E: Euan.Paterson@sams.ac.uk
T: 01631 559342 Mobile: +44 (0) 7768 507342
Twitter: @ScotMarineInst
Notes to editors:

Dr Alex Bielak is an internationally recognised Knowledge, Translation and Brokering authority. In the course
of a diverse career, focused on the natural resources and water sectors, he delivered many successful
communications campaigns and acclaimed initiatives in order to link science with environmental policy
development. Since leaving public service, Alex founded his own knowledge translation and brokering
consultancy known as Alex Bielak Communications. Now an Associated Fellow, Alex was previously Senior
Research Fellow and Knowledge Broker with the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment
and Health, and served as Senior Advisor to the chair of UN-Water.

Louise Shaxson is a Research Fellow in the RAPID (Research and policy in development) programme at ODI,
the UK’s leading think tank on international development. Previously a director of the management
consultancy company Delta Partnership, her work focuses on improving public sector policy and strategy
within the broad framework of evidence-based policy making. Prior to joining ODI Louise worked as a natural
resource economist and researcher in Africa and Latin America, as a research manager in DFID’s London
headquarters, and as a management consultant with government departments in the UK and internationally.
She is currently working in South Africa helping a government department strengthen its evidence-informed
approach to policy making.

The Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS), based at Dunstaffnage, near Oban, is Scotland’s largest
and oldest independent marine science organisation, dedicated to delivering marine science for a healthy
and sustainable marine environment through research, education and engagement with society. It is a
charitable organisation (009206).