Engineering a new generation of aquaculturalists

By Rob Fletcher 

In an unusual and innovative move, Dundee University’s Division of Civil Engineering has plans to train up a new generation of aquaculture technicians in offshore engineering and is offering a number of funded MSc places to promising students considering joining the sector as part of a joint initiative with the recently formed Scottish Aquaculture Innovation Centre (SAIC) and the University of Stirling. Dr Jonathan Knappett, Senior Lecturer in Civil Engineering and programme leader of the MSc in Geotechnical Engineering, will be coordinating the positions that will be held at Dundee. Although he admits that the precise course content and interaction with the industry will develop over time, he is enthusiastic about the synergies between the two fields – an enthusiasm that is shared by the aquaculture industry and equipment suppliers. “The idea,” Jonathan explains, “was partially inspired by Peter Davies, a professor in fluid mechanics at Dundee, who had been involved in a Scottish Government investigation into the areas where the aquaculture industry needed to devote more research to. One of the priorities identified by the investigation was the need to develop technology that would allow the industry to move further offshore – a change that is likely to be essential if the salmon industry wants to meet the Scottish Government’s targets for increasing production [to 210,000 tonnes per year] by 2020.” The idea was then given further impetus after the SAIC managed to attract enough funding for 25 Masters placements for the initiative from the Scottish Funding Council – a number of which will be allocated to successful Dundee applicants.

“Of the 25 grant-funded places available, 10 are going to an aquatic veterinary medicine course at the Institute of Aquaculture, while the remaining 15 will be split between students studying for the MSc in Sustainable Aquaculture at the Institute and those studying Geotechnical Engineering at Dundee – the exact split will depend on the quality of the applications for each course,” Jonathan explains. Those applying for funding to study at Dundee will join the established MSc in Geotechnical Engineering, which has a strong focus in offshore engineering – looking at structural design and mechanics as well as geotechnical design and mechanics. The course has traditionally been highly popular with those seeking to join the oil & gas industry, but there has been something of a shift towards the renewables sector in recent years too and Jonathan believes that there is much common ground between all three sectors. “Renewables are particularly relevant to aquaculture as the projects are often on a similar scale and very reliant on geotechnical factors, while the loading regimes and locations of offshore fish farms will be similar to those of current near-shore renewables,” he points out. This belief is mirrored in the EU-funded MERMAID research project, which Dundee are participating in, which is investigating the co-location of aquaculture sites and renewable energy. “Offshore structures, mooring and anchors are all part of the marine engineering side of things and these have a core relevance to aquaculture companies,” observes Jonathan. “And those students who win SAIC funding will be expected to do an aquaculture-related research project linked with industry, which will account for a third of their course.” “Aquaculture companies can come and discuss with us any engineering problems they might face – we’re very open to approaches from the industry,” he reflects. “It’s still early days and we’re still developing an exciting list of project titles, but we have already had discussions with Gael Force and the SSPO and have 5-6 projects ready to go. “Examples of projects on the list include: cost-benefit analysis of geotechnical site investigation for reducing anchoring costs; characterisation of elastic dynamic mooring components for reducing anchorage loads (and size); and developing drop anchor solutions for aquaculture.” The course will, to the best of Jonathan’s knowledge, be completely unique. “As far as I know there are no engineering courses linked to the needs of the aquaculture industry elsewhere,” he says. It is also, Jonathan feels, a very good time for engineering students to consider the potential of a career in aquaculture. “Given the current state of the oil & gas industry, the course would suit both recent graduates and experienced engineers looking to transfer across to the aquaculture sector and we see potential for people to return to university as a way of finding new outlets for their offshore expertise,” he points out.

Further information Dundee’s Geotechnical Engineering course is currently open for applications and those seeking to apply for a funded place can make a note of this while filling in the standard application form on the university’s website. For further details, Jonathan can be contacted on j.a.knappett@dundee.ac.uk