The MBA runs regular events, aimed at promoting marine scientific excellence. We run events for schools, families and the wider public. We also organise regular events for our members, providing the marine biological community with networking and professional development opportunities. These events include conferences and workshops, training days and scientific meetings.
MBA Events
The MBA runs regular events, often collaboratively, aimed at promoting marine scientific excellence. We run events for schools, families and the wider public. We also organise regular events for our Members, providing the marine biological community with networking and professional development opportunities. These events include conferences and workshops, training days, career opportunities and scientific meetings. Members benefit from registration discount on MBA organised events.
Online Events 2020-2021
We are running a series of online events and recorded webinars. Join as a Member to take part live via Zoom or join our live streams or view previous sessions on YouTube.
2021 Upcoming:
4th November 16:00 (UK Time) - Marine Biology Live: Marine Biology, policy and Social Science - Dr Rebecca Shellock - REGISTRATION OPEN SOON
18th November 16:00 (UK Time) - Marine Biology Live: Isabella and the Emperor - Dr Miranda Lowe & Catherine Booth - share stories and music in celebration of scientist Isabella Gordon with Electric Voice Theatre. REGISTRATION OPEN SOON
27th to 28th November 10:00 am - 16:00 both days (UK Time) - Young Marine Biologist Summit - Young, aspiring marine biologists are welcome to join us for high-profile, inspirational speakers, career advice and more. REGISTER NOW
Date TBC (UK Time) - Marine Biology Live: Ocean Literacy - Dr Russel Arnott - REGISTRATION OPEN SOON
16th December 11:00 am (UK Time) - Marine Biology Live: Winter Special - Marine Science in the Mediterranean - Arianna Liconti & MBA Mediterranean SIG - REGISTER NOW
2021 Past Events:
1st July 11:00 am (UK Time) - Marine Biology Live: Bringing Back the Native Oyster Across Europe - Dr Joanne Preston - WATCH NOW
3rd June 11:00 am (UK Time) - Marine Biology Live: 3D SciArt: Bringing the Marine Microbiome to Life - Davis Laundon & Dr Michael Cunliffe - WATCH NOW
20th May 11:00 am (UK Time) - TMB Deep Dive: The Changing Arctic Ocean & New Research in the UK & Russia - Maria Gavrilo, Professor Claire Mahaffey &
Dr Paul Mann WATCH NOW
6th May 11:00 am (UK Time) - Marine Biology Live: Marine Citizen Science Special - Dr Charlotte Bolton, Jules Agate & Susan Hewitt. WATCH NOW
15th April 11:00 am (UK Time) - Marine Biology Live: Plymouth Sound biodiversity hotspot and how this is reflected in the inshore zooplankton community- Dr Dave Conway. WATCH NOW
1st April 11:00 am (UK Time) - Marine Biology Live: Aquatic Embryos in a Warming World. - Dr Oli Tills. WATCH NOW
18th March 11:00 am (UK Time) - Marine Biology Live: Polar Science Expeditions. - Dr Birthe Zåncker & Jim McNeil. WATCH NOW
4th March 11:00 am (UK Time) - Marine Biology Live: Conversation with author and presenter Dr Helen Scales. WATCH NOW
18th March 11:00 am (UK Time) - TMB Deep Dive: Oceanic Shark Hotspots, Industrialised Fishing & Climate Change - Professor David Sims WATCH NOW
4th February11:00 am (UK Time) - Marine Biology Live: Science Communication for Researchers - Tanya Dimitrova. WATCH NOW
7th January 11:00 am (UK Time) - Marine Biology Live: Seasons on the Seabed - Keith Hiscock. WATCH NOW
Marine Biology Live
Marine Biology Live is a series of online talks organised by the Marine Biological Association. Talks take place at 11:00 am (UK time) on the first Thursday of each month and will cover a range of current marine biology topics by MBA members, researchers and invited guests.
Most Recent Session: 
The Marine Biologist Deep Dive
An online Conversation with the authors from the latest edition of The Marine Biologist . Hosted by Guy Baker, Editor TMB editor, the sessions delve deeper into the content of articles, but also give a chance to learn about the people behind the science.
Most Recent Deep Dive:
Coffee Time Talks
Flash presentations (15 minutes) from our colleagues at the MBA's Citadel Hill Laboratory introducing their research are now being recorded and links posted on to our YouTube channel. Recordings are now available on YouTube here.
Major workshops – register you interest
Practical Course on Advanced Optical Microscopy for Cell Biology, 17-27 March 2021
Microelectrode, Patch Clamp and Optical Techniques for Cell Physiology, 1-15 September 2021
Courses
Identification of Challenging Seaweeds, 4-6 August 2020 - postponed .
Primer-E – dates to be announced
Marine Science Camps
For the 4th year, we are delighted to be working in partnership with the Field Studies Council to help deliver a series of marine science camps fot young people at centres around the UK. Courses include one year of MBA membership in the price of attendence.
Outreach Events
Marine Biologist for a Day
The MBA runs an annual Marine Biologist for a Day event at its laboratory in Plymouth. The event usually takes place over 2-3 days, with separate days for primary aged students and secondary school/ college aged students. the days are aimed at anyone with a keen interest in marine biology and gives an opportunity for participants to meet working marine scientists and carry out experiments and interactive activities in the laboratory.
Bioblitz
The MBA runs an annual Bioblitz with partners, as well as supporting and participating in Bioblitz events run by other organisations. The MBA is also actively involved in the National Bioblitz Network. These 24 hour events record biodiversity in the marine environment, and a range of other coastal habitats within a set boundary.
Find out more about the MBA Bioblitz including links to previous events here.
Work Experience
This year's MBA Work Experience Programme will be slightly different again due to the ongoing global Covid-19 pandemic.
The programme will take place over a series of fully interactive, online Wednesday evening sessions (16:00 - 18:00 UK Time) these are currently scheduled for 29th Sept; 6th Oct; 13th Oct; 20th Oct; 10th Nov; 17th Nov; 1st Dec but may be subject to change. The programme will also include an opportunity to participate in the 2021 YMB Summit on the 27th and 28th of November.
You may also be interested in the series of Marine Science Camps taking place each year around the UK and led by the Field Studies Council in partnership with the MBA.
If you are seriously considering a career in marine biology, we now have membership categories for everyone, including a new Young Marine Biologist category. Becoming a member is a fantastic way to learn about marine biology and to find out about opportunities to enhance your career prospects. Visit membership for more information.
Virtual Library Tour
The National Marine Biological Library (NMBL) has created a novel virtual tour exploring how the library has evolved since opening to support the marine community.
The Young Marine Biologist (YMB) Summit is a MBA event for 12-18 years-olds consisting of a series of talks and workshops, networking opportunities and a careers Q&A session. The aims of the event are:
- To facilitate inclusion of young members in the marine biology community;
- To provide opportunities for networking, and meeting other marine biologists and representatives from marine biology course providers.
The 1-day annual event helps fulfil the MBA’s commitment to working as a catalyst for life-long engagement into our ocean, providing young people aspiring to study marine biology with an opportunity to gain experience and make well-informed decisions regarding their career.
More information here https://www.mba.ac.uk/ymb#b19The 17th annual MBA Postgraduate Conference took place at the University of Exeter, Streatham Campus, 12–14 April 2021
The aims of this year's postgraduate conference are to; facilitate collaboration, provide field-leading training, discuss current issues and develop as marine researchers - skills vital for a career in marine biological research, within or outside of academia.
Key themes to this years event:
- Highlighting the importance of interdisciplinary research in providing solutions to key issues in marine biological research, spanning sustainable fisheries to the control of invasive species.
- Science isn't finished until it's communicated. Showcasing the important role scientists have in communicating research findings and implications to the wider public.
- Exploring the roles scientists have within and outside of academia and gaining an understanding of these career paths.
More information, including regarding registration and submission of abstracts here.
History
In October 2001, the MBA meetings secretary suggested that the MBA should be engaging the marine biological post-graduate community through the establishment of a postgraduate workshop. At the time there were no scientific meetings in marine biology where postgraduates and post-docs could meet, discuss their work and exchange ideas.
The first MBA Post-Graduate workshop was held over two days in April 2002 at the Citadel Hill Laboratory in Plymouth. It was attended by 60-70 students and post-docs from as far afield as Dublin, Belfast and France and the speakers were a mix of MBA fellows, students, postdocs and invited guests.
As a result of the success of the meeting it was agreed that the small profit made would be used to ‘seedcorn’ the next workshop and the Annual MBA Post-Graduate workshop was born. Since then workshops have been held every year except 2003.
Conferences are organised by post-graduates (with some financial support from the Association) and as such have been excellent opportunities for Marine Biology post-graduates to gain experience in organising scientific conferences. They have also proved popular with the Marine Biology postgraduate community.
For more information please contact the MBA Student Membership Officer at membership@mba.ac.uk.
Previous events
16th Postgraduate Conference - University of Newcastle, England 5-8 May 2019
15th Postgraduate Conference - Plymouth University Marine Institute, Plymouth, England 21-23 May 2018
14th Postgraduate Conference - University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, England, 24-28 April 2017
13th Postgraduate Conference - University of Portsmouth, England, 16-20 May 2016
The MBA regularly sponsors a prize at the Annual European Marine Biology Symposium, coordinated by the MARS Network. The 54th EMBS will take place at the O'Brien Centre for Science, Ireland (25-29 August 2019), hosted by the University College Dublin.
The MBA Education team runs regular events for all levels of expertise, as well as running workshops and displays at national and regional exhibitions and conferences.
The MBA also runs regular survey events for members, details can be found on the MBA Facebook Page.
Marine Biologist for a Day
The MBA runs an annual Marine Biologist for a Day event at its laboratory in Plymouth. The event usually takes place over 2-3 days, with separate days for primary aged students and secondary school/ college aged students. the days are aimed at anyone with a keen interest in marine biology and gives an opportunity for participants to meet working marine scientists and carry out experiments and interactive activities in the laboratory.
Marine Biologist for a Day 2020 Postponed Until Further Notice
this year’s Marine Biologist for a Day event has been postponed due to the escalating and unpredictable status of the Covid-19 (coronavirus) outbreak and the potential risks the event format might pose to participants and staff, and their families.
The event is an important day in our calendar of annual events and one which the MBA look forward to immensely. The decision has therefore not been taken lightly.
We hope to be able to run the event later in the year, but as you will hopefully understand, it is not possible to confirm a date yet.
For more information: Email events@mba.ac.uk or call 01752 426346
Check out some images from previous event on our Facebook gallery.
The Beach Rangers Returned to the Shore in 2018!
Throughout the school holidays, Beach Rangers run free family-friendly events on Plymouth’s beautiful shores. After another succesful year,the team are looking for sposorship to support a 2019 programme of events.
Plymouth Sound is home to many curious and wonderful creatures and its importance for marine wildlife is internationally recognized. Beach Rangers will help you discover these wonders and there will be plenty of fun along the way!
Typical ativities include rock pooling, arts and crafts, games and much more! You can get creative, learn why the sea is so important to people, whilst also helping gather information through our Crab Watch citizen science project.
Beach Rangers events are run In partnership with Plymouth City Council, EarthJump and the National Marine Aquarium.
For more information call the education team on: 01752 426543 or email: education@mba.ac.uk
For regular updates follow @PlymBlueSound on Twitter.
Supporting Beach Rangers
If you'd like to help the Beach Rangers to run next year, please support us by making a donation. You can find out more here.
The MBA runs an annual Bioblitz with partners, as well as supporting and participating in Bioblitz events run by other organisations. The MBA is also actively involved in the National Bioblitz Network. These 24 hour events record biodiversity in the marine environment, and a range of other coastal habitats within a set boundary.
Find out more about the MBA Bioblitz including links to previous events here.
Work Experience at the MBA
The MBA receives many enquiries about work experience and as a result now runs a work experience week every July for school and college students aged 14 to 18.
2021:
This year's MBA Work Experience Programme will be slightly different again due to the ongoing global Covid-19 pandemic.
The programme will take place over a series of fully interactive, online Wednesday evening sessions (16:00 - 18:00 UK Time) these are currently scheduled for 29th Sept; 6th Oct; 13th Oct; 20th Oct; 10th Nov; 17th Nov; 1st Dec but may be subject to change. The programme will also include an opportunity to participate in the 2021 YMB Summit on the 27th and 28th of November.
As well as contributions from MBA researchers and students, we are delighted to announce that we will also be joined by scientists from Plymouth Marine Laboratory during this year's programme.
The programme is open to anyone aged between 14 and 18.
Applications for this year's programme is now closed. However we will be announcing more about our 2022 programme in November. Here, on our social media and by our member bulletin.
Other Opportunities
You may also be interested in the series of Marine Science Camps taking place each year around the UK and led by the Field Studies Council in partnership with the MBA. These residential training courses are for young people aged 16-18 years old in various locations around the UK, and aim to inspire and educate young people about the marine environment.
As part of this programme, there are also work experience opportunities for Student members of the MBA to mentor on the camps, assisting experienced FSC field tutors and MBA marine biologists with the delivery of the courses. Applications are invited between February-March each year. Please check our vacancies page for the latest details or contact membership@mba.ac.uk to enquire further.
If you are seriously considering a career in marine biology, we now have membership categories for everyone, including a new Young Marine Biologist category. Becoming a member is a fantastic way to learn about marine biology and to find out about opportunities to enhance your career prospects. Visit membership for more information.
Save the date:
The MBA Annual General Meeting will be held on Wednesday 02 December 2020 at Citadel Hill.
Invitations and further details will be sent out to members nearer the time.
Royal Charter Launch 2014
In March 2014, the patron of the Marine Biological Association, HRH The Duke of Edinburgh, joined a host of distinguished guests to celebrate the granting of a Royal Charter to the Association and what this means for our work to increase understanding of the marine environment.