Development Events

Over the last 6 months, the Inspiring Oceans team has been travelling the country, bringing marine themed activities, discussions and debates to KS4 and Post-16 students in York, Chester, London and Bristol. The students have been getting stuck into topical issues including ‘Ocean Acidification’ & ‘Climate Change and the Oceans’. They have also been learning about careers in the marine and maritime field, with talks from the British Antarctic Survey, The Wildlife Trusts, Natural England, Harbour Masters, the MOD, Newcastle University and Southampton University and many more.

As part of each event, schools participated in a debate. Each school planned and presented an argument, and after all cross-examination had taken place, a winning school was chosen. The two best schools were chosen to compete in the Debate Final at the Oceans of Opportunity – The Launch event.

Oceans of Opportunity – The Launch event
The Oceans of Opportunity Event took place at Newcastle University on Wednesday 4th November 2009 and was attended by hundreds of school pupils aged 15-18 from around the country.

Schools participated in a range of stimulating interactive activities that brought science learning to life, including:

• Sink or Swim – an introduction to ship design
• Environmentally Friendly Oil Slick
• Bioluminescence in marine animals
• Microhabitats in marine

The two winning schools from the regional events fought it out in the debate: Is Shipping Sustainable Form of Transport for the 21st Century. Attending schools participated in the audience, asking challenging and insightful questions.

Students also had the opportunity to find out more about the fantastic careers and courses on offer in marine, maritime, science and engineering fields. A wide range of high profile companies and employers attended the event with many challenging and exciting careers showcased.

Prizes and quizzes added to the fun of the day.

NYK and the BBC Box
Over the past year the BBC have been following the progress of a shipping container as it moved around the world, in a bid to tell the story of international trade and globalisation. They’ve called it The Box.

NYK Shipping Line have been working with the BBC to manage the project logistics. To find out more about NYK, click here

BBC Business Editor Jeremy Hillman says: “... the journey of The Box has helped shed light on issues ranging from the growing strength of China’s consumer class to international piracy and what globalisation really means close up.”