Twenty-two undergraduate students from the Ocean College of Zhejiang University will be welcomed to the University of Auckland to participate in a field course at the Institute of Marine Science at Leigh Marine Laboratory.

They will study the importance of the marine ecosystem and coastal and estuarine processes. The courses include fieldwork at Whangateau estuary on the east coast in Rodney District just south of Leigh.

Later students will do laboratory experiments on erosion and visit Tawharanui Regional Park near Matakana where they will learn the importance of marine reserves and experience New Zealand culture and customs.

These visits create valuable opportunities for international students to conduct research and experience our unique New Zealand environment first-hand,” says Professor Sebastian Link, Faculty of Science Associate Dean International. “The programmes the students will participate in also reinforce the idea that in working together, we may overcome some of the very real challenges facing our environment and the planet.”

This is the second year the University of Auckland has welcomed students from Zhejiang University. The two institutions are developing a range of collaborations in teaching, research and student exchange programmes.

Source: University of Auckland, New Zealand

Editor: Jingsheng