Personal reflections from the ICYMARE Travel Grant recipients
Attending international conferences can be prohibitively expensive, especially for students and early-career scientists. To lower these barriers, we support selected young researchers through our travel grant program. Thanks to our generous sponsors, six recipients from around the world were able to present at ICYMARE 2025 BREMERHAVEN and gain visibility for their research.
We greatly appreciate the additional funding made available by the Scientific Committee on Ocean Research, which allowed two more researchers from otherwise underrepresented regions to join us in Bremerhaven. Because resources like these are generally hard to secure, SCOR’s contribution had a particularly strong impact on the 2025 round of travel grants.
We thank all supporters who continue to make the ICYMARE travel grant program possible year after year. The reflections we receive from our grant recipients shows how this kind of support allows them to actively take part in the international marine science community. So what does this support mean in practice? Read on to see how our grant recipients experienced ICYMARE 2025 BREMERHAVEN and what they took away from it.
Qinthan Azzahra Aulia (Indo Ocean Foundation, Indonesia):
“As this was my first experience attending an international conference on-site, I am very impressed by the safe and welcoming environment that encourages people to share ideas and expertise. Networking is easy here because everyone is kind, open-minded, and eager to connect for further discussions about their projects, research, or experiences after their presentations. Thank you for supporting me through the travel grant. I am truly grateful for that, as it has been really helpful in funding my trip and making my dream of visiting Europe come true. I hope to bring back and apply the knowledge, experiences, and connections I have gained here to marine conservation and research efforts in Indonesia.”
Amy Guest (South Atlantic Environmental Research Institute, Falkland Islands):
“I’m very grateful to have received the travel grant, which allowed me to travel over 8,000 miles to attend the conference this year. ICYMARE offered such a supportive and friendly atmosphere for my first conference experience! The talks and sessions were so interesting and inspiring, and I made some wonderful friends at the same time during the social events. Thank you to the sponsors, I wouldn’t have been there without their support.”
Rosa Vergara González (Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, Ireland):
“ICYMARE 2025 BREMERHAVEN has been a conference that combined innovation, respect and friendliness. The team did an amazing job creating a welcoming atmosphere where everyone could improve their skills and share knowledge while having a good time! Starting out in research can be challenging, and ICYMARE plays a key role in supporting early-career scientists. As I wasn’t affiliated with any institution, the travel grant was especially meaningful, and I gained knowledge I’ll carry throughout my career.”
Nidhi Johri (Ashoka University, India):
“My experience at ICYMARE was truly enriching. It provided a unique platform to share my research and connect with fellow early-career marine researchers from around the world. The conference had inspiring talks and posters, insightful workshops, and provided opportunities for collaboration. I am deeply grateful to the ICYMARE travel grant for supporting my journey from India to Bremerhaven, which made it possible for me to present and be a part of this community.”
Pau Bardi Puigdefàbregas (University of Barcelona, Spain):
“ICYMARE 2025 BREMERHAVEN was my first international conference, where I had the opportunity to present my bachelor’s thesis. It was an immensely rewarding experience, from learning about the publication process in a workshop to connecting with driven early-career researchers across disciplines. The supportive environment made my entry onto the international stage both smooth and energizing. I am deeply grateful for the travel grant and for an unforgettable week with the ICYMARE community.”
Keir Beaton (Scotland’s Rural College, United Kingdom):
“I am so honoured to have been awarded a travel grant to attend ICYMARE 2025 in Bremerhaven, Germany. The conference was an incredible experience, with a great variety of research being presented. It was a privilege to be able to share some of my own research, and it was really inspiring to meet so many people applying research skills in so many novel and exciting ways, tackling key questions and problems facing our marine environments.”