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Getting Started

This week we will be getting to know each other and diving into the Course content and activities. You will need to work around class time and group activities to ensure all of the coursework is completed on time. This 2-Part Course is intensive, and we have limited time together.

Course 1: Grand Challenges Facing the Ocean

In this course, we will focus on the issues and challenges facing our global oceans. This project-based course will develop leadership and advocacy skills that are required to address key challenges facing the ocean, from overexploitation and marine pollution to climate change and ocean acidification. Students will learn about key marine and coastal issues and how to apply technical expertise to address real-world marine challenges. Working in groups on timely problems facing the ocean, students will learn to analyze the challenges, identify opportunities for resolution, and then embark on that path to change. In so doing, they will gain experience applying their technical expertise to address actual challenges facing the oceans today.

Course 2: How to be and Ocean Leader

This course will focus on training students to be our world’s future Ocean Leaders. This course will train students to help create a world in which the oceans are healthy and their resources are used sustainably and equitably. Through lectures and workshop activities, students will learn about integrating and synthesizing disparate knowledge, policy analysis and briefing, public communication, and knowledge translation. To this end, we will develop the following skills:

• Communication
  • Including dissemination information to different audiences, written versus oral communication, presentation skills, knowledge translation, and more
• Collaboration
  • Including interdisciplinary teamwork, facilitating collaboration and groups, and conflict management
• Leadership
  • Including awareness, responsibility, respectful and constructive feedback, inclusion, and taking action

Plan for Week 1

We have lots of components to Week 1, so be sure to keep track of your schedule. Your weekends are your own, unless you participate in an optional trip or activity. Evenings that do not have a scheduled event will likely be needed to complete assignments and group work. Unless otherwise noted, everything scheduled during weekdays is required.

Due this week is the draft of the Scholarly Project. Be sure to submit this by 9am on Friday by email to your instructor(s). To meet this deadline, you’ll need to meet and work as a group throughout Week 1, so you will have to commit to your Scholarly Project topic and group during our first class for the Grand Challenges course on July 16.

Schedule

Some Tips for Writing

If you would like free assistance with your writing, you have a few options. First, UBC’s Centre for Writing and Scholarly Communication provides Writing Consultations you can book online, as well as many writing resources on their website.

There are also free platforms like Grammarly, which can help you edit and refine your writing. As long as the work you submit is your own, you can get editorial assistance to ensure your work is as well written as possible. Grammarly shows you what needs to be fixed and shows you how, so you learn how to do the editing yourself and improve your writing skills.

You can also check out this Open Access paper, “Scientific Writing Made Easy: A Step-by-Step Guide to Undergraduate Writing in the Biological Sciences” by Turbek et al 2016.