Jule Buschmann

MSc in Marine Science & Climate Change

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" If you're thinking of coming here, I'd say do it! If you're interested in marine science and looking for a course that has a very personal, hands-on approach, this is the place to do it."

What brought you to the University of Gibraltar?

I grew up in Germany, nowhere near the ocean. Working as a marine scientist never even crossed my mind until a few years ago. After studying business in the Netherlands, I travelled through Central America for eight months and started scuba diving. That’s when I fell in love with the ocean.

I was amazed by the beautiful coral reefs and the marine life. When I returned to Germany, I got a master’s degree in finance and started working for an asset management firm, where I invested in renewable energy projects. While the projects were interesting, I quickly realized it wasn’t a good fit. On a dive trip to the Maldives, I decided that I wanted to learn more about the ocean and work towards protecting marine life. I quit my job half a year later and moved to Mozambique to work as a divemaster. In Mozambique, I also had the opportunity to do an internship with the Marine Megafauna Foundation, which led to a volunteer project with the Manta Caribbean Project in Mexico. These experiences made me want to study marine science at university level, so I decided to do the master’s degree in Marine Science & Climate Change here at the University of Gibraltar.

How have you found student life at the University of Gibraltar?

While Gibraltar is quite small, it has a lot to offer. There are many nice restaurants and bars and you can do lots of different activities like hiking up the rock, kayaking, dolphin tours and day trips to Spain.

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How has your experience of the university been so far?

The first month in Gibraltar has been great! I’m really enjoying the lectures, and it’s been great meeting so many like-minded people. The course is entirely different from my previous university degrees. The small class size allows for more personal interactions with the professors and opportunities to ask questions, which is very helpful since I don’t have a biology background like most other students. As part of the course, we do a lot of practical work, which will be helpful when applying for jobs next year. Overall, I am delighted with both the university and living in Gibraltar.

What do you expect to do once you graduate?

Before coming to Gibraltar, I would have said I wanted to work on the conservation of manta rays and marine megafauna in general. I worked with mantas in Mozambique and Mexico before coming here and I’m in awe of these gentle giants. While this is still something I would very much like to do, I’ve gotten so many new impressions in the first month here and so many different ideas about what I might like to do. This course has opened up a lot of potential new paths, and I’m excited to see where it takes me. I can say that I want to do fieldwork and live near the ocean, ideally somewhere tropical.

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