Ashfords Research and Training Bursary

Financial support for current undergraduate students to undertake activities that will enhance their experience and skillset
Woman on beach staring out to sea at sunset
Through a generous donation from Ashfords Solicitors, the Marine Institute is able to offer bursaries to undergraduate students, which are intended to help enable an external placement, research visit, expedition or training course that is related to the student’s degree and to the marine/maritime sector, either in the UK or overseas. The scheme provides a unique opportunity for students to add to their experience and develop their skillset, maximising their opportunities.

The bursary

The bursary can support an extracurricular activity (taking place outside of normal timetabled teaching and assessment periods), a formal placement year, or it could contribute to a final year research project or dissertation work. Large equipment or consumable purchases are unlikely to be funded.
Students can apply for a bursary in the range of £300–£1,500. The number of bursaries awarded each year will be determined by the total amount of funding available versus the amounts applied for.
Applications must be made using the specified forms, providing full details of the proposed activity and an anticipated cost breakdown. A written report (1,000 words) must be submitted upon the completion of the activity.
Applications should be submitted to marineinstitute@plymouth.ac.uk by the deadline below. We anticipate contacting applicants regarding the outcome within a few weeks from the deadline.

Call for applications

The call for applications for the 2024–2025 Ashfords Bursaries has now closed.
The call for the 2025–2026 round of applications is expected to open at the start of Semester 1 in Autumn 2025.

Previous recipients

2025
  • Jacob Baugh – marine and coastal conservation placement, NPC Nature's Valley Trust, South Africa
  • Emily Healy – placement, White Shark Projects, South Africa
  • Laura Whettingsteel – placement, Under the Wave, Zanzibar
  • Bertrand Groves Webster – marine conservation internship, Global Reef, Thailand
  • Cameron McCrea – RYA boat training course, SeaRegs, Plymouth
  • Delphine Cabri – presentation at maritime design and technology conference, London
  • Lotty Green – field expedition on coral reef health, Australia
  • Zoë Henderson – turtle nesting placement, Travelteer, Sri Lanka
  • Ruby Spry – dissertation data collection: anemone immune response to heat stress, Innoceana, Costa Rica

2024

1 / 5
Diver photographing a shark

Hope Evans photographing an Oceanic Black Tip shark in South Africa

2 / 5
Woman pointing at a VHF radio on the waterfront

Sonia Evans applying her boating skills professionally in Greece

3 / 5
A woman holding a baby turtle

Deborah Rowland holding a baby turtle in Mexico

4 / 5
Diver on a coral reef

Carly Davison on a coral reef expedition in Indonesia

5 / 5
a researcher in a lab

Ethan Horsley in the lab at the Marine Biological Association

  • Hope Evans – placement, SharkWise project, South Africa
"I completed a 3-month internship in Widenham, South Africa, helping to collect long-term data on the Aliwal Shoal shark populations and the reef that they inhabit. The project aims to use this data to inform local shark conservation laws. Most important for me was the chance to meet and connect with like-minded individuals from all over the world. I got the chance to network with professionals and received invaluable advice to forward my career in marine biology. I have also formed lasting friendships that I would’ve otherwise never been able to make." Hope Evans
  • Sonia Evans – professional training courses (boat handling), RYA, Plymouth
"In addition to experience, there are various courses and qualifications that are required to achieve my long-term career goal of working for the British Antarctic Survey as the Boating Officer, supporting ocean research. The bursary has enabled me to complete some of these courses with the Royal Yachting Association and, now that I have graduated, I plan to complete the remaining qualifications required later this year. I am very grateful for the support in building my practical boating skillset, which has helped to set me up for a career in facilitating ocean research." Sonia Evans
  • Deborah Rowland – Ocean Giants internship, Manta Caribe, Mexico
"I was based on Isla Mujeres in Mexico for 4 weeks to help learn more about the Caribbean Manta and mobulid rays and to understand how they are threatened, informing conservation efforts of these animals and their local habitat. I learnt a huge amount about the science and conservation of mantas, whale sharks, turtles and reef systems, what it takes to run an NGO, and gained many skills and experiences that I will treasure and go on to use in my future career as a marine biologist." Deborah Rowland
  • Carly Davison – field expedition on coral conservation, Indonesia
"I joined a 2-week research expedition to North Sulawesi, Indonesia to gain practical experience in coral reef conservation. As part of the expedition, I participated in ecological surveys on coral reefs, seagrass beds and mangrove forests, contributing to a long-term dataset. This has supplemented my learning at university, putting theory into context. I trained in underwater field techniques, soft coral sampling and gained a deeper understanding of coral, fish and crinoid taxonomic identification, which has been extremely valuable to me and has opened up further research opportunities on crinoids." Carly Davison
  • Ethan Horsley – final year research on algal toxins, Marine Biological Association, Plymouth
"I started an extended research project at the MBA investigating the effects of algal toxins on invertebrates. It focuses on a genus of harmful algae that produce a neurotoxin with environmental impacts, as well as human and animal neurological impacts. Marine invertebrates are also affected by it and might therefore be used to establish a low-cost and accessible model to test for harmful algae toxins, which would be of particular benefit in developing countries. This study also links into ongoing research on maintaining ecosystem health. I have already gained extremely useful research management and design skills, building on previous experience in marine molecular biology and clinical neuroscience." Ethan Horsley
  • Aeden Cooper – malacology conference attendance, Natural History Museum, London

Support for marine students from Ashfords

We are very pleased that continuing support from Ashfords has funded prizes for excellent final year research projects relating to UN Sustainable Development Goal 14 – Life Below Water, as well as scholarships to retain talented marine students in Plymouth, and bursaries have now also been added to the opportunities on offer.
Coastal Processes Research Group Perranporth beach
The University of Plymouth has an international reputation in providing courses associated with the sea and provides one of the widest portfolios of marine and maritime courses in Europe. Thousands of students choose to study a degree with a marine or maritime theme and the Marine Institute acts as a gateway to these courses.
Marine courses at the University of Plymouth have access to the state-of-the-art research laboratories and equipment and have a strong hands-on theme. The University is recognised as a leader in experiential learning – fieldwork, for example, is a vital and important component of environmental degrees.
Find out more about our marine and maritime courses .