(SitNews) - Alaska Sea Grant is partnering with NOAA Fisheries to provide opportunities to Alaska Native and rural students at the federal agency. The goal is to increase their representation in marine-related professions at NOAA Fisheries, an arm of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration formerly known as the National Marine Fisheries Service.

Over the summer of 2019, NOAA Fisheries and the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF), which houses Alaska Sea Grant, launched a marine education and workforce development program that brought five undergraduate students to the UAF campus for a two-week course run by Vladimir Alexeev, research professor at the International Arctic Research Center (IARC). It’s called the Partnership in Education Program Alaska (PEP AK). The program was developed by policy analysts Sorina Stalla and Megan Hillgartner, and UAF faculty member Alexeev.

This summer’s curriculum focused on marine sciences and the drivers of Arctic change, climatology, oceanography, marine resource management and policy, law, subsistence use and perspectives, hydrology, climate modeling, permafrost, interior wildfires, meteorology, atmospheric science and more. Following their coursework and a trip to the Toolik Field Station on the North Slope, students applied their knowledge and completed internships with NOAA’s regional Alaska office and its Alaska Fisheries Science Center in Juneau.

The Partnership in Education Program Alaska fosters understanding and practical use of knowledge (including indigenous knowledge) and policy for undergraduates entering marine-related professions.

Moving forward, the program envisions being supported by a consortium of federal, state and academic entities committed to a diverse Alaska workforce to maximize impact. It will serve as an opportunity for these entities to support students, connect them to regional opportunities, and expose them to career pathways in the state.

For questions about the program or how to get involved, contact Sorina Stalla at sorina.stalla@noaa.gov.

 

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