On November 7, 2017, IAMRI General Meeting was held in Qingdao, China. Prof. Kim Young-Seup, President of Pukyong National University (PKNU) and Chair of IAMRI, moderated the session. Prof. Li Huajun, Vice President of Ocean University of China (OUC), Prof. Arianne Plourde, Director of the Office for International Affairs at University of Quebec Rimouski (UQAR) along with representatives from the PKNU delegation and staff at the International Office of OUC attended the meeting.
President Kim Young-Seup started with opening remarks on the current standing, significance and prospects of the alliance. Mr. Liu Yue, Director of IAMRI Secretariat at OUC, gave an overview on the development of the alliance in terms of past annual meetings and events, potential member institutions, visits by and to member institutions, responsibilities of handling over to the next rotating secretariat, challenges and possible solutions. This was followed by a proposal for the 2018 annual meeting in Rimouski, Canada, delivered by Prof. Arianne Plourde. The meeting was then open to discussion on the planning of the next meeting, key objectives of the alliance, forms of cooperation and new membership.
Tentative Program for 2018 Annual Meeting in Rimouski, Canada
The meeting laid out a tentative framework for next year’s annual meeting which is to be held at UQAR for three days during the week of Oct. 22-26, 2018. The theme will be “Estuaries to Open Ocean”, highlighting a keynote speech on the case study of the St. Lawrence estuary.
Apart from the opening session and optional visits on the first day and last day of the meeting, the second day will be devoted to an academic symposium for professors and graduate students in the fields of research related to the theme. During the symposium, professors will give presentations on estuary research and graduate students will also have a chance to share information about their research. The meeting decided that next year’s meeting will not only give priority to academic exchanges on the faculty level, but also focus on students’ experience, providing student participants with an opportunity to engage in academic discussions and gain a good understanding for overseas institutions. The meeting also agreed that an efficient mechanism should be established before enlarging the scale of student involvement.
Collaboration on Research and Student Education
Vice President Li Huajun pointed out that as the founding institution of IAMRI, OUC aims at building a marine-related science and educational network for win-win results. Collaborative research co-conducted by professors of member institutions serves as an important bridge between members. As the Chinese government encourages domestic universities to work with global partners, joint research projects may be eligible for funding by the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology and National Science Foundation. Collaboration with marine-related international organizations should also be sought for.
On the cooperation of student education, Vice President Li suggested joint programs, exchange programs and jointly established learning institutions for undergraduates, master’s and doctoral students. President Kim Young-Seup suggested learning from international best practice and starting with bilateral agreements for student mobility between member institutions.
New Membership
The meeting identified several institutions that had expressed intentions of joining the alliance including James Cook University, Nelson Mandela University, University of Maine and Ocean University of Sri Lanka. To explore the possibilities of new membership, the meeting unanimously agreed to invite interested institutions to the 2018 annual meeting. Formal invitation along with the tentative program will be sent out by the end of the month of this meeting.
