A small group of stakeholders (from the University of Malta, Planning Authority, Superintendence of Cultural Heritage and Heritage Malta), led by Prof. Timmy Gambin, has just returned from a workshop in Trondheim, Norway. Financed by an EAA grant, this workshop was hosted by the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU).
The first of the project workshops was held in Malta earlier this year. Both workshops foregrounded the intrinsic link between historic shipwrecks and modern marine litter. In Trondheim, participants spent the first two days on board RV Gunnerus, the research vessel owned and operated by the NTNU. All those on board were given the opportunity to partake in operations involving state of the art technologies linked to undersea exploration.
Back at the NTNU, the remaining three days were dedicated to the sharing of research - relevant to the field - which is currently being undertaken at the NTNU. Apart from presentations delivered by Ph.D. students, the group was also addressed by Professor Siri Granum Carson, director of NTNU Oceans. In her address, Professor Carson explained that one of the roles of NTNU Oceans is to facilitate interdisciplinary activities, as well as to support ocean research related to complex sustainability issues. Another distinguished contributor was Dr Alexei Bambulyak from Akvaplan Niva, a Norway based entity that specialises in marine plastics research.
A round table was organised on the final day of the week-long program, where there were various discussions centered around possible avenues of collaboration between the various entities. Short, medium, and long-term collaborative initiatives, including co-authored papers, fieldwork opportunities and grant applications were discussed and agreed upon. Øyvind Ødegård, (senior researcher in marine archaeology), together with his colleagues and team of postgraduate students organised what turned out to be a very informative and fruitful event that will certainly lead to future collaboration between the University of Malta and the NTNU.