In Bermuda, students of all ages—primary school through college—have a unique opportunity to develop and demonstrate a range of skills, from math to group problem solving, by participating in the Marine Advanced Technology Education (MATE) Bermuda Regional Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) Challenge. The annual event, held this year in late March and hosted by BIOS with lead donor support from HSBC Bank Bermuda Limited (HSBC), is part of BIOS’s Mid-Atlantic Robotics IN Education (MARINE) program.

Since 2005, BIOS’s Ocean Academy and Raleigh Bermuda have partnered in the support and development of young Bermudians in their six-day Outdoor Survival Camp as trainees prepare for volunteer work in Tanzania, Borneo, Costa Rica and other countries. In early April, 28 young Bermudians and their adult mentors, ranging in age from 17 to 27, participated in an environmental project on the island that exposes trainees to some of the rigors of working abroad.

Last week, seven enthusiastic Clearwater Middle School students and two proud teachers got an experience of a lifetime when they headed to North Rock with BIOS to snorkel and operate their winning Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) in the ocean.

“I call them the Female Dream Team,” said BIOS educator Kaitlin Baird The Bermuda Program, designed for high school and college students, began in 1976 as a way to encourage students to consider careers in marine, atmospheric, and oceanographic sciences. It is part of BIOS’s Ocean Academy, a suite of hands-on programs offered for 10-to 21-year-old Bermudians that centers on science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) topics. Last year, 1,390 local students and teachers were involved in Ocean Academy programs

In May, Deirdre Collins was named the recipient of the prestigious Bermuda Rhodes Scholarship award. Collins will use the scholarship in September to pursue a graduate degree in environmental change and management at the University of Oxford, located in England.

There’s no denying that a lionfish, beautifully striped yet as pesky as a rat, is intriguing to see up close. For a group of 12- and 13-year old Bermudians, who dissected and even tasted the fish during a Spirit of Bermuda voyage, it was a highlight of their four-day journey.

See more pictures in the Ocean Academy Facebook photo album.

This Saturday, come cheer on the students competing in the 2015 ROV Angelfish Challenge! Mid-Atlantic Robotics in Education at BIOS. Each team will be piloting their own ROV through a series of underwater challenges at the National Sports Centre. The event opens to the public at 9am – hope to see you there!

Students put their technical skills to the test yesterday as part of an island-wide competition to design the best underwater robot.

In 1988, at the age of 20, Maia Patterson McGuire took a break from her usual summer job of working at the Bermuda Aquarium, Museum, and Zoo (BAMZ) to accept an internship with BIOS’s Bermuda Program, a move that would change her career trajectory. Through this opportunity, available for Bermudian students, she conducted research with Robbie Smith, now the curator of the Natural History Museum at BAMZ. At the time, he was an adjunct faculty member at BIOS—a position he still holds—in the process of conducting research on coral reef ecology for his doctoral degree.