What are the key issues facing the marine environment? How could and should they be addressed?

If you are interested in issues linked to sustainability, marine governance, and complex relationships between the sea and human activities, and like to study them in a multidisciplinary setting, the minor subject module ‘The Sea – Multiple Perspectives’ might be for you.

These are among the questions that the module addresses. The studies link knowledge of marine ecosystems to economic and societal activities related to some of the ‘wicked’ problems that the oceans are encountering. Understanding and managing complex problems, such as climate change, biodiversity loss, or eutrophication requires expertise in a variety of different scientific disciplines, which makes them inherently difficult, but also unusually interesting to tackle. The module focuses on the Baltic Sea as a particularly impacted and ecosystem.

The multitude of courses aims at giving the students a thorough overview of the challenges of marine environments in a multiple-stressor and climate change context. The courses will help to gather an in-depth understanding of marine wicked problems, their causes, effects, and management approaches. In addition, this module increases students’ competence to apply conceptualizations and research approaches across scientific disciplines in the study of marine wicked problems.

The module is relevant for students who want to specialise in marine research and/or are interested in working in governmental and non-governmental organizations or in business related to marine ecology, governance, and maritime business.

The course Solving the Wicked Problems of the Ocean is obligatory and a recommended starting point of the module. Such other courses can be elected from the list according to own interests and they are given by the subjects of environmental and marine biology, industrial management, political science, and public administration and law. The Sea seminar is recommended to conclude the studies of the module.

The language of studies is English.