The International Ocean Institute is once again offering the Elisabeth Mann Borgese Bursary consisting of a sum of €3,500 which may be used in furthering research studies over the period of a year.

The 2013-2014 bursary will be awarded to one person/research team carrying out postgraduate studies/research in ocean/marine/maritime-related studies at the University of Malta. Staff or students are to be registered with the University of Malta where research in the relevant fields is carried out.

The EMB Bursary was established by the International Ocean Institute as a means of demonstrating recognition to the host country of the IOI – Malta – for hosting the IOI headquarters and providing facilities for staff and offices.

The bursary also constitutes a further recognition and acknowledgement of the role of Prof. E. Mann Borgese, founder of IOI, and of her considerable achievements. The bursary is financed through the IOI’s Women, Youth and the Sea Programme.

Further information and application forms may be accessed through the IOI website http://www.ioinst.org/ or obtained by emailing IOI Headquarters on [email protected]. The application deadline is Friday, 20 July.

At the end of the bursary period, the awardee is to present a brief/paper of the attainments of the funded research to the IOI. This may be eligible for publication in the IOI's Ocean Yearbook and may also form the basis of a public presentation held as part of the World Ocean Day Celebration of IOI, the following 8 June, or on any other occasion deemed appropriate by the IOI.

Previous winners of the EMB Bursary since 2010 have worked on diverse research areas within the scope of marine and maritime-related studies at the University of Malta. Past work has focussed on proposed stakeholder managed Marine Protected Areas in Malta; the collection of genetic data on the bluntnose sixgill shark, Hexanchus griseus, with the aim of understanding the population variation within the central Mediterranean region and working on species preservation; and to the study of the concept of State of Disembarkation in the context of migration law and its links to principles enshrined in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Past winners of this award have come from diverse backgrounds in geography, genetics and maritime law.