The International joint master programme on Marine Biological Resources (IMBRSea), organised by 11 universities throughout Europe, from September 2020 onwards has offered a full online alternative track for the courses organised in the first module “Fundamentals”. During the summer of 2020 an international team of over 30 people, including teachers, students and alumni, converted the seven courses of this module into attractive online courses. By doing so, IMBRSea was able to offer students who were not yet able to travel to or within Europe by September 2020 to participate in the programme. The active and engaging online courses was designed using advanced technologies and will include team-work tools, 3D and virtual experiences and was guided by a team of teachers from all of the eleven partner universities. So as to ensure that students within the master programme were able feel part of a community, additional virtual spaces were made available, through which extra-curricular activities were organised (quizzes, meetings, chats, …). Having learnt which aspects worked best during our first ever online first semester, we have worked to improve the course content and updated our online platform. In this way IMBRSea ensured that they will continue to be a leading International Marine programme, preparing for a new future!

Partners involved in IMBRSea-Online: Ghent University, University of Sorbonne, University of Algarve, Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology, University of the Basque Country, Polytechnic University of Marche, University of Bergen, University of Western Brittany, University of Cote d’Azur, University of Gothenburg, Cyan Planet, and the European Marine Science Educators Association.