3.6 million Euros for »Helmholtz Graduate School for Polar and Marine Research (POLMAR)«

The 3.6 million Euros of the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres for the new graduate school will be granted over a period of six years, supporting junior polar and marine researchers in their specialized studies. Initiated by the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) in Bremerhaven the "Helmholtz Graduate School for Polar and Marine Research (POLMAR)" is a co-operation project of Jacobs University, the Universities of Bremen and Potsdam, the Bremen based Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology, the Bremerhaven Univeristy of Applied Sciences, and the Institute for Marine Resources.

[ Jun 18, 2008]  “We are proud to have succeeded with our application as the competition for these kinds of grants is very tough,“ says Jelle Bijma, bio-geoscientist at AWI, adjunct professor at Jacobs University and the main coordinator of the new graduate school. The scientific grant committee in particular noted the application’s excellence in its awarding statement.

“Once again the unique complementary expertise constellation of the leading earth and marine science institutions in Bremen and Bremerhaven, this time supplemented by the University of Potsdam, proved to be very successful in providing graduate students with excellent study and research opportunities,” comments Andrea Koschinsky-Fritsche, Professor of Geosciences and POLMAR coordinator at Jacobs University, on the grant. The first joint graduate school project to be supported by the Helmholtz Association, with Jacobs University, AWI, and the University of Bremen as co-operation partners, was the "Helmholtz Research School on Earth System Sciences (ESSRES)", initiated in July 2007.

POLMAR will be established as a transdisciplinary umbrella organization to combine high level science qualification in the various disciplines of polar and marine research with other key qualifications through joint seminars, lectures and internships.

Contact:
Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research:
Prof. Dr. Jelle Bijma | phone: +49 471.4831-1831 | e-mail: Jelle.Bijma@awi.de
Jacobs University :
Andrea Koschinsky-Fritsche | phone: +49 421.200-3567 | e-Mail: a.koschinsky@jacobs-university.de