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Participation in UNIS course AB-827 Arctic Micobiology 2024

Lay summary

Description of the programme

The course program was divided into three main parts: a theoretical part, a fieldwork part, and a practical part. The theoretical part made sure that all the students (Master and PhDs) were on the same level of background knowledge, and to describe the various ecosystems characterizing the Arctic. The highlight of the course was definitely the fieldwork days, where we sampled from marine, glacier, pingo, permafrost, acid mine drainage and cryopeg environments. Finally, the practical part consisted of lab experiments, data analysis, and a presentation as a small scientific project.

How did you benefit from the programme?

I believe this course was beneficial to me and will be in my future career plans, as it made me realize how some environments can be difficult to access. For example, we drilled permafrost core, which is technically difficult to start with, but requires even more precision and care to avoid contamination in the context of microbiology studies. It also made me realize that, although many studies investigating microbial communities of Arctic environments exist, a lot more work is required, especially to understand how all the different ecosystems are linked together.

What were the highlights of the training?

For me, the highlight of the course were the fieldwork days, providing us with skills that will be useful for our career, while allowing us to discover the beauty of Svalbard. Another highlight of the training was that we were quite autonomous and could take independent decisions regarding sampling and lab work. This way, we actually designed a project based on our scientific interests.

Would you recommend the programme to other students?

I would definitely recommend this course. It is a very good introduction to the complex ecosystems of the Arctic, with ample fieldwork days to really understand the difficulties related to remote field campaigns. I would recommend having a background in basic microbiology (theoretical and practical) to get the best out of this course.

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