In the summer of 2013, when I was visiting Scotland for the third time, I accidentally discovered Heriot-Watt University. I got on Bus 25 on Slateford Road and waited to see where the ride would eventually end. It was one of those rare Scottish late afternoons, when a golden sunlight permeates the air and rejuvenates the mind. The bus dropped me at the University’s campus and I was surprised to find it so quiet and serene, a striking contrast to the campus I was studying on in Romania at the time. Back then I did not suspect I would study at Heriot-Watt University or that I would see its campus ever again.

I applied for a Master’s degree in Marine Biodiversity and Biotechnology in 2014 and commenced the course in the fall of next year. I was very excited about the opportunity to study at an internationally renowned university and to learn from professionals who turned their passion for marine biology into a lifelong career. I also met students from various backgrounds and countries from whom I have learned so much.

The first semester covered aspects of marine biodiversity and I had three core modules in Applied Research and Design, Diversity of Marine Organisms and Marine Resources and Sustainability. As an optional module I chose Marine Ecology and Fisheries and this choice largely influenced the area of marine biology I eventually became most interested in. Lab work and report-writing filled most of my time and I felt I was learning new relevant things all the time. Taxonomy has always been something I held dear and the Diversity of Marine Organisms course allowed me to explore this into depth when I wrote an extensive essay on the diversity of polychaetes.

The second semester was dedicated to a theoretical course in Marine Biotechnology and associated practical skills which helped us identify biosurfactant-producing bacteria from marine samples, design primers, analyze our own Q-PCR data and critically review relevant literature on gene expression in zebrafish (Danio rerio). As optional modules I chose GIS, which was purely practical, and Marine Environmental Monitoring.

The taught part of this MSc ended last week and now I have the dissertation project to look forward to. I can say I have truly learned a great deal in these nearly 7 months and I have become even keener to turn my passion into a career.