“Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man how to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime”. Although the original reference of this statement is disputed, there are few who dispute its truthfulness. However , we would like to share the experiences of our aquaculture training programmes, because life-long learning does not stop after teaching a man/woman how to fish. For example, teaching everyone how to fish would lead to a collapse of the fish population. Aquaculture has seen a steep increase in the past decades, but further growth to secure future aquaculture production is linked to considerable societ al challenges in a complex interrelated manner: (1) environmental impact of aquaculture, (2) climate resilience, (3) resource scarcity, (4) biodiversity conservation, (5) social equity, (6) food security, (7) health and disease, (8) market access, (9) technological adoption and (10) policy and governance.
Although experts in different disciplines are needed to enforce scientific breakthroughs , transdisciplinary visions are crucial for implementation of change. EATFISH, EASYTRAIN and RASOPTA are three Marie Sklodowska Curie doctoral training networks educating early-stage disciplinary researchers in a transdisciplinary manner through a three-year training programme around individual PhD research projects. For PhD students, research and education is not only a means of acquiring knowledge and skills, but also a way of contributing to the advancement of their fields and the society at large. To understand such situations in the complex web of interacting sectors, goals, and interests our approach is founded on bridging the frequently occurring “knowing–doing” gap and shift away from more traditional, discipline-oriented education . Real-life issues as identified by PhD students through visiting and working at aquaculture industries were the point of departure for a student-active learning . These observations have been systematically linked to science , business, governance and societal aspects in the training programme.
At AQUA24 we will share our experiences in transdisciplinary training of young researchers and address the impact on the career of the researchers, aquaculture innovation and society.