OCEANOGRAPHY AND MARINE SCIENCE
Floating campus puts students in touch with the sea
SA has earmarked the oceans as a vital area for economic growth but marine research continues to be underfunded
Tumelo Mathe, a doctoral candidate at the University of Fort Hare, had never been on a ship. For most PhD students, this wouldn’t be a problem, but Mathe was studying ocean science. "Being a PhD at a previously disadvantaged institution, we do not have equipment used in oceanography studies", he says. Even beyond the equipment, most institutions in SA do not have the funds to send students to sea, a major impediment for those studying oceanography. SA has earmarked the oceans as a vital area for economic growth. Operation Phakisa has been touted as a way to bring R2bn to the economy by 2033. But marine research continues to be underfunded and it is difficult to fund students and their training. According to the latest National Survey of Research and Experimental Development, in 2014-15 marine science received R74.9m, up from the R51.1m it received in 2005-06, but not enough to keep ahead of inflation and rising input costs. In 2014-15, marine science accounted for 0.3% of R29bn the ...
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