Port accessStudents from the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) and the University of Bordeaux are starting their round trip between Santurtzi and Saint Jean de Luz, from 18 to 26 July. On the way, they will visit different places along the Basque coast where free activities open to the public will be held.
This morning saw the official presentation of the second edition of the voyage of the Saltillo, a ship of the University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU, which has become the special venue for the Summer Course entitled “A University that looks out to sea: sailing for knowledge on the Saltillo training ship“. The purpose of the voyage, in which the Port Authority of Bilbao is collaborating, is to showcase the scientific, educational and outreach work of the facilities of the UPV/EHU that look out to sea.
At the presentation event held at the UPV/EHU Higher Technical School of Nautical and Marine Engineering, Gorka Moreno Márquez, Vice-Rector of the UPV/EHU Bizkaia Campus, stressed that this summer course is an example of several of the strategic lines that the UPV/EHU is looking to work on in the coming years, including innovation in education, the promotion of sustainability and the SDGs, internationalisation, knowledge transfer, etc. And all of this in an environment as relevant and attractive as the Basque coast and our Saltillo training ship.
For his part, the Managing Director of the Port Authority of Bilbao, Carlos Alzaga, pointed out that “relations between the business world and education must be very close, and this training ship and the EHU/UPV itself are playing their part for this to be so”. Mr. Alzaga also recognised the need to attract more women to technical careers. “We need more engineers and, for this to happen, we need to attract younger people, especially women. Dual training is also essential”.
Javier Sánchez-Beaskoetxea, Assistant Director of the Maritime Studies Area of the Bilbao School of Engineering, welcomed the students to the training school, the seafarers’ building, to the Saltillo training ship and to the course itself, highlighting “the importance of raising awareness in society at large of the sea and everything related to it”.
The aim of this voyage, part of the UPV/EHU
Summer Courses, is to engage the minds and interest of all those taking part in an experiential and participatory learning experience. Furthermore, the course forms part of the Cross-border Summer Courses programme, the second edition of which is being held in parallel in Bayonne.
The itinerary will also include activities on land (in Portugalete, Mutriku, San Juan de Luz, Donostia, and Bilbao), with free activities open to the general public and conferences on subjects such as the environmental monitoring of port waters, ammonites, underwater archaeology, the relationship between science, citizen science and activism, and the restoration of maritime heritage.
The activities open to the general public are as follows: (click on the title to see the programme of each course)
- Environmental monitoring of port waters. 18 July. Portugalete
- The ammonites of Mutriku: an ocean heritage of 100 million years ago. 20 July. Mutriku.
- The underwater archeological map of the Bay of San Juan de Luz Ciboure. Discovering an invisible heritage. 22 July. San Juan de Luz.
- Dialogue between science, citizen science and activism: reducing plastic pollution, shared projects for a common challenge. 24 July. San Sebastián.
- Restoration and Maritime Heritage and Restoration workshop. 26 July. Itsasmuseum. Bilbao
For those media interested, coverage of the crossing can be arranged both on shore and on board.
Course programme: here.
Further information: Estibalitz Esteibar / estibalitz.esteibar@uik.eus / T. 34 646 93 64 56
