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On August 2, the expedition set off from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. For 36 days, the scientific team on the R/V Professor Multanovsky will assess the state of coastal marine ecosystems in the Far Eastern seas in the context of global climate change and increasing anthropogenic load.
Pavel Chukmasov from the Laboratory of Mammal Behavior and Behavioral Ecology and Sergey Bukreev from the Laboratory of Bird Behavior and Management are participating from the A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the Russian Academy of Sciences. During the voyage, the scientists will conduct censuses of marine mammals and birds, as well as teach this to students. This year, the IEE RAS staff will work closely with four students - from St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk and Moscow.
The IEE RAS staff also plans to work with a remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV) to survey the benthos in sea otter habitats.
Thanks to the “Floating University” program, students and postgraduates selected based on the results of the All-Russian competition of the Winter School 2024 were able to become part of the scientific team. Scientists involve young specialists in their research, who will have to work on current scientific problems together with the heads of the departments during the expedition. The Floating University has a history of more than 30 years, starting with a UNESCO program with the leading role of the Geological Faculty of Moscow State University. Now the program has received a new round of development - the All-Russian scientific and educational program "Floating University" has been created, aimed at involving students, postgraduates and young scientists in scientific research activities. The program unites organizations aimed at providing the field of World Ocean research with highly qualified personnel. The annual cycle of the program includes 3 main stages: (1) Winter School of the Floating University, (2) Training through research in marine expeditions, (3) Integration of participants into the scientific community - through presentations at scientific conferences.
Since 2019, 7.5 thousand applications have been submitted to participate in the program, with more than 2.5 thousand students taking part in person. Today, 47 organizations are participating in the program, including universities, scientific and educational organizations, as well as industrial partners. More than 80 percent of students participating in the project continue their activities in the field of Earth sciences.
Since 2021, the Floating University project has been implemented within the framework of the UN Decade of Ocean Science, is part of the Science of Winning initiative of the Decade of Science and Technology of the Russian Federation, and is supported by the Ministry of Education and Science of Russia as part of the implementation of the National Project "Science and Universities".
By decision of the Interdepartmental National Oceanographic Commission of the Russian Federation, the coordinating role in the development and implementation of the Floating University project has been assigned to MIPT.
Floating University website.