Welcome Day for students at the EU-CONEXUS Joint Master
On September 15, the EU-CONEXUS Joint Master in Marine Biotechnology has been officially inaugurated in a Welcome Day event, receiving 25 new students from more than 15 different nationalities (Japan, United States, Brazil, Philippines, Ethiopia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Greece, France, Germany, Spain, Nigeria, Italy, Switzerland, Lithuania, Croatia, Russia and Albania)
‘This first academic semester of the two years that make up this Master’s, you will spend it in this university: Catholic University of Valencia, so you are more than welcome here as you are in our city of Valencia.’ Elena Floristán, Vice-rector for Strategic Coordination and Internationalization at the UCV.
The students will study at the UCV the first term of the master’s degree, at La Rochelle Université, France, the second term. At the third term, students will choose a specialization track out of the four given, and finally, during the fourth term they will be able to carry out their Final Master’s Project at any University or Scientific Institution. During this 2-year master’s degree, students will do at least 3 mobilities within the consortium’s universities.
The joint Master programme will benefit students from access to international experts and state-of-the-art curricula. The EU-CONEXUS partner universities and networks include major commercial companies, research and education institutions, national and regional authorities, national and regional business development agencies and international organisations.
The Erasmus Mundus Joint Master’s Degree in Marine Biotechnology is one of the few joint master’s degrees created by an alliance of European universities which also belongs to the Erasmus Mundus Program of the EU.
‘This master’s degree focuses on marine organisms as a source of knowledge and inspiration, which will provide students with a complete set of technical tools to join any job position related with the biotechnological development process of new products and services: from discovery and innovation to markets.’ Jerónimo Chirivella, academic coordinator of the Master.
The students receive also guidance with the digital tools and with the campus life services as sports activities, language centre, international associations, etc. They get familiarised with their new environment with a campus tour. Then, students were able to speak up their doubts in a Q&A session with the UCV Master Officer, Josefa Martínez.
‘It means a lot to me to be the unique representative of the United States, and I already find myself asking everyone new so many questions about their language and culture.’ Katie Hensler, student.
All the EU-CONEXUS team is delighted with the launch of this master, as Jean-Marc Ogier expressed ‘This joint master is very important for our alliance. Warm thanks to Valencia for this ceremony, and I will see you soon in La Rochelle for the next term.’
