Since the first semester of 2017, IMO associate researchers, postdocs, and students have been meeting every two weeks to take part in research seminars intended to make known each member’s research projects and then to discuss them in a relaxed, friendly environment which could promote future collaborative work among IMO members. The seminars are organized by doctoral student Matías Pizarro-Koch, who points out: “Scientific seminars in which researchers, technicians, and students , take part are fundamental to spreading scientific or technical knowledge on a specific subject. It is one of the activities that should exist in every scientific institution, such as The Millennium Institute of Oceanography. Seminars allow us to learn first-hand about the research taking place in other scientific labs with similar interests.”

To date, five seminars have been conducted on various topics, including the microscopic world dominated by bacteria and zooplankton diversity in deep-sea waters.

“Seminars allow us to directly interact with other researchers and, even if the subjects covered are not part of our scientific interests, they also help us to increase our general knowledge. This is why every IMO researcher and student should be absolutely committed to attending the seminars,” adds Matías Pizarro-Koch. Without a doubt, these kinds of activities provide scientific communities such as IMO with a wide, varied and multidisciplinary training.