A cooperation agreement between the University of Rostock and the German Oceanographic Museum Foundation was signed on April 26, 2022 by University Rector Professor Wolfgang Schareck and the Foundation’s Board of Directors Professor Burkard Baschek and Andreas Tanschus. The new cooperation agreement is intended to further intensify the already existing close cooperation in the areas of research and teaching.
As the largest university in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern with a broad subject profile, the University of Rostock is making its contribution to solving the major challenges facing society. In its internationally visible research areas of life sciences, especially ecology and marine biology, the focus is on the interactions between people and their environment.
As the only museum of its kind in Germany, the German Oceanographic Museum has the nationwide task of presenting and scientifically studying the fauna and flora of the seas and oceans, as well as their exploration and economic use by humans. With the primary goal of scientifically researching the development processes and ecological interrelationships of life in the sea as well as the interactions between humans and marine organisms and communicating them in a generally understandable way, it fulfills an outstanding popular science and educational function. With the signed cooperation agreement, the University of Rostock and the German Oceanographic Museum would like to further intensify their future cooperation in research and teaching.
“With the increasing problems of the oceans, including the Baltic Sea, we need to act more sustainably together. The cooperation agreement with the University of Rostock allows us to jointly advance the tasks in marine and coastal protection even more. The German Oceanographic Museum is strongly committed to the Decade of Marine Research for Sustainable Development launched by the United Nations. It is important to us that we act together with all national and international actors. For us, the basis for this lies in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern — especially with this cooperation.”
- Professor Burkard Baschek
The rector of the university, Professor Wolfgang Schareck, is looking forward to the cooperation with the new director of the German Oceanographic Museum: “We welcome Professor Baschek very warmly to Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and look forward to further cooperation with the German Oceanographic Museum in Stralsund. It is important to synergistically combine all existing forces in coastal research. The University of Rostock is very interested in a close exchange with all important stakeholders for holistic development for the coastal region of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.”
In particular, joint research activities are to be promoted with the new cooperation agreement. Professor Stefan Richter, Vice Dean of the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences at the University of Rostock, played a leading role in preparing the cooperation agreement: “There has been a successful cooperation with the German Oceanographic Museum in Stralsund for many years, especially in teaching, for example in the joint supervision of bachelor’s and master’s theses. In addition, the German Oceanographic Museum has also provided us with significant support in the design of the Zoological Collection at the University of Rostock. With the new scientific director Burkard Baschek, we now also want to further intensify cooperation in research.” In particular, cooperation in coastal and marine research, joint teaching and supervision of bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral theses, as well as in knowledge transfer and exhibition design will be further intensified in the future.
