We are very happy to welcome our new student intern, Megan Pickard from the UK. There are so many projects and activities at the IOC that mean there is a wide variety of experience to gain, and we likewise gain a huge amount of value from the excellent students that choose to spend some time in our Reykjavik offices.
Megan has a passion for the marine environment and is currently studying a Bachelors in Zoology at Cardiff University in Wales, UK. She has spent a lot of time around the sea, learning to scuba-dive, and is now a qualified Rescue Diver. In 2020, she spent two months on a dive project in the Seychelles where she carried out underwater surveys of reef health for the local authorities. This solidified her commitment to study the sustainable use of our oceans to minimise threats to ocean health.
She has recently returned from 3 weeks diving- in Borneo as part of her studies with Cardiff University, collecting data for two projects. One involved collecting data for a report on the abundance and filtration rates of sponges in the coral reefs and whether it benefitted the local water quality. The second study focused on the feeding preferences of damselfish according to the symbiotic algal content of corals. This was an exciting opportunity to explore project design and research in field.
Megan has just started as a student intern at Iceland Ocean, where she is supporting with the Hack the Ocean – Hackathon project and the 100% fish project. She pursued this internship to gain more experience in research in an applied context and to explore the beautiful Icelandic nature.
