EIT Food Activities 2023 - 20161-23 Professional Development Programme

The Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS) is leading the delivery of short advanced professional education and entrepreneurship courses within the UK and EU sustainable and restorative food and aquaculture sectors. We lead on two key courses 1: INSPIRE Restorative Aquaculture and 2: Algal Biotechnology for Sustainable Food production.



The Inspire Restorative Aquaculture Course encourages talented recruits to create innovative solutions, which increase the productivity and profitability of the aquaculture sector. The course will provide training and theory in seaweed farming, rural social science, finfish, shellfish, algae biology, culturing, growth, molecular and metabolite analysis; entrepreneurial content and support to develop innovative solutions and business propositions for the aquaculture sector; and a final pitch event. The programme also aims to facilitate stakeholder engagement and partnerships through access to academics, leading companies in the industry and startups working to overcome challenges in the aquaculture sector at the live online events. The course is led by The Seaweed Academy at SAMS, UK in partnership with the University of Cambridge and the Polish Academy of Science. The Seaweed Academy is the UK’s only dedicated seaweed industry facility offering a complete package of training, education, and business development, supporting expansion and skills development for the seaweed aquaculture industry. The courses will be in-person at SAMS in Oban in the West Coast Highlands.



The aim of the Algal Biotechnology professional development programme is to provide introductory training and theory in algal biology, culturing, growth and biotechnology under laboratory and small scale pilot facilities. The course will also offer insights and examples from an industrial and entrepreneurial perspective, that can help the participants to found or improve their own algal-based business. The delivery of both online and in-person will ensure that new and re-established networks will occur for all delegates across an international sector and attendees. No formal qualifications are required, but attendance is made on the application where you will need to describe your reasons for attending the courses. The course is open to anyone with a Bachelor, MSc or PhD degree or substantial experience within the aquaculture sector or food system, especially those within the EU and EU and EIT Food associated countries. The course is hosted by the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS) in partnership with the University of Cambridge Algal Innovation Centre (AIC) (UK), Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB (Germany) and Matis (Iceland).