They came with robots in their arms and dreams of undersea victories. On April 30, more than 100 Bermudian students met at the National Sports Centre pool to compete in the island’s second annual Mid Atlantic Robotics IN Education (MARINE) underwater robotics challenge, with lead donor support from HSBC.

Twenty-eight teams from nine schools and educational organizations will converge on the National Sports Centre on Saturday, April 30, for the 2016 MATE Bermuda Regional ROV Challenge. The program, hosted by BIOS, is part of the Mid Atlantic Robotics IN Education Program (MARINE), with lead donor support from HSBC.

BIOS training leads to diverse careers in marine and atmospheric sciences, and beyond

While many students spent the summer enjoying Bermuda’s beaches and the freedom of not having to set an alarm clock, Jacari Renfroe—a 14-year old at The Berkeley Institute in his first year of senior school—showed up bright and early, five days a week for his Bermuda Program internship at BIOS.

Building on two years of successful programs within Bermuda’s schools, including professional development workshops for teachers and an annual design and piloting challenge for students, the BIOS Mid-Atlantic Robotics IN Education (MARINE) initiative recently announced a new partnership with the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute (BUEI).

BIOS’s Ocean Academy program has a new partner in delivering hands-on science education and learning opportunities to Bermuda’s students: The Chatmore Preparatory School.

When Quincy Paynter, deputy principal at The Berkeley Institute—a public senior school in Bermuda—wanted to provide his students with team-building experiences that would also highlight key scientific concepts related to electives offered at his school, he knew where to turn: the BIOS Education Department.

Bermudian Claire Fox joined BIOS this month as a science education officer, bringing to the job her experience as a BIOS intern, and as a former employee and volunteer for a variety of island-based science education outlets, plus university-level science training.

On June 8, seven BIOS employees will take part in a virtual career fair hosted by the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute (BUEI) in honor of World Oceans Day. The event’s theme, “The Ocean: Life & Livelihoods,” is designed to help local high school and college students explore the wide variety of career opportunities that exist in fields related to ocean science.

A two-year research project led by the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences (BIOS) aimed at increasing understanding of highly migratory and mobile predatory fishes, including sharks, in Bermuda’s deep-sea waters was one of 31 projects chosen this month to receive funding through the Darwin Plus program. The program, also known as the Overseas Territories Environment and Climate Fund, is administered through the U.K. Government’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and provides funding for the “conservation of unique and globally significant environments found in U.K. Overseas Territories.”