The Germans are on their way

A major research collaboration between the University of Waikato and the University of Bremen in Germany is about to start with 13 students enrolled for doctorate degrees all focusing on aspects of marine and environmental change.

Called INTERCOAST, which stands for integrated coastal zone and shelf-sea research, the programme sees top scientists from the two universities, the Port of Tauranga, Environment Bay of Plenty and Priority One putting their support behind the project. The German Government's Science Foundation has pitched in with several million dollars.

Professor Katrin Huhn from the University of Bremen visited Waikato University and Tauranga this week to meet the New Zealanders involved in INTERCOAST. She says there are big differences and big similarities in the coastal make-up of the North Sea and New Zealand waters, but we can learn plenty from each other.

"Your sediment and ecosystems are different, as are the currents and tides and your laws around fish stocks and quotas and marine development are different too. But we all want to preserve the local environment while increasing development opportunities."

Professor Huhn is a geoscientist, but biology, law and social science will also be studied on the INTERCOAST project. "In total we hope to have 39 PhD students work on different projects over nine years. The University of Bremen is already one of the world's leading marine research institutions and has one of the world's top five oceanographic institutes. We're excited by the prospect of working with Waikato University and the different organisations in Tauranga that have an interest in the port and its future."

INTERCOAST is the first project to come out of the New Zealand-Germany Science and Technological Agreement and the first Australasian science collaboration for the University of Bremen. Professor Huhn will be back at Waikato in February with a near 40-strong delegation mostly from Bremen, including its rector, and the German ambassador to New Zealand will also come along. The visit will be an opportunity for international participants to familiarise themselves with the region and meet key academics and industry representatives involved in the project.