Capacity building and PhD student partnership in the Marine and Maritime sectors

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The oceans cover ~70% of our planet and provide food, energy, environments, and resources that sustain life. Throughout history and into the future the oceans will be the principal pathways for human migration and commerce, with ships carrying more than 90% of global trade. Ports and coasts remain magnets for human activity with more than a billion people living along the coast and almost half of the world's population resident within 150 km of the sea. The oceans provide significant resources but they also are increasingly a source of natural and human-enhanced hazards. We are the stewards of this vast ecosystem and require a pipeline of PhD scholars with a global perspective on these marine and maritime issues to ensure their sustainable development and exploitation. 3-6 month internships will be developed in both institutions to meet these strategically important needs for society; each internship underpinned by world-class facilities and excellent training environment provided by our funded Doctoral Training Programme SPITFIRE.The UoS is a world leader in the marine and maritime sector and NMMU is emerging as a leader in South Africa in this domain. PhD partnership activity will significantly enhance the skills and research capabilities of PhD scholars from both organisations; developing a cohort of 20 graduates that will have strong links to their hosting institution and a unique global perspective. The PhD exchange activity will be developed into a sustained institutional collaboration by annual staff exchange activity including Professional Services staff and development of an ongoing joint PhD programme.