As part of my first graduate course, I travelled to the US to work surrounded by nature – biology is my specialism. When I returned to Belgium, I felt that I wanted to develop my knowledge in marine biology and wanted to seek out new learning opportunities that involved the marine environment. I did some online searching and I saw the Masters course with the University of Gibraltar. The idea that I could also dive as part of my course – something which I really enjoyed – and into much warmer waters than at home really appealed to me.

I found the facilities at the University of Gibraltar really good. I was used to Ghent University, which is huge, but it is also very competitive. Here everyone wants to work hard and do really well, the course is challenging in a really good way, the tutors push you to do your best but are always there and available to support you. In addition to that, the materials and equipment are exactly what we need to be able to achieve the demands of the course. Also, I found being in a small group of students really useful. Our tutor arranged for all of us to meet up and get to know each other early on at the start of the year and it helped create the bonds we needed to work together and progress our studies. It’s a really good atmosphere and a great environment for learning.

I am also in student accommodation here in Gibraltar. When I arrived, I found that the team here at the University were keen to make sure that everything was running smoothly, and they went out of their way to iron out any problems I encountered.