Competitions

In the marine competition "Research at Sea", pupils from the 9th grade onwards can make their own research project a reality on a real research vessel and spend a week experimenting, taking and analyzing samples on board the ALDEBARAN. During the excursion and the subsequent laboratory activities, the teams receive active support from their scientific mentors.

In 2024, the marine competition "Research at Sea" celebrated its 20th anniversary.

The three winning teams were:

Biodiversity of diatoms as the earth's "marine lungs"
Student team: Lara Marsell, Emely Schüler, Amandus-Abendroth-Gymnasium, Cuxhaven
Science mentors: Dr. Claus Dürselen, AquaEcology; Dr. Dirk Reinhardt, LADR GmbH Medizinisches Versorgungszentrum Dr. Kramer & Kollegen (supporters)

Microclimate in seagrass meadows
Student team: Serafina Uhl, Melissa Horras, Frieda Greiling, Greta Banzhaf, Gymnasium Spaichingen, Schülerforschungszentrum Tuttlingen Science mentor: Sebastian Storey, Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg; Dr. Matteo Lattuada, Technical University Braunschweig (advisor)

More than just looking into the tube
Student team: Luise Koball, Arian Niclas Wulf, Gymnasium Reutershagen, Schülerforschungszentrum Rostock
Science mentor: Lisa Schüler, Institut für Angewandte Ökosystemforschung GmbH; Peter Schmedemann, bilSE Institut für Bildung und Forschung; Heiko Betz, Frauenhofer Institut

Together with its partners, the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation and the German Ocean Foundation, boot Düsseldorf annually honors environmentally friendly projects and technical innovations for a better climate and healthier oceans.

This year's winner is the organization Ambiente Europeo with the project SeaLabs. With SeaLabs, sailors can collect important marine data in remote areas and turn every trip into a research expedition. To this end, the company equips participants with affordable sensor technology and an intuitive app and uses the potential of the sailing community to obtain large data sets.

This year's finalists were SeaLabs, enteron, The Healthy Seas Foundation, High Seas Alliance and Ocean Material.

Together with the SMM, AI Hamburg and the Forum Oceano from Portugal, the German Ocean Foundation is launching the "AI for the Oceans Award". Start-ups and initiatives from all over the world that use artificial intelligence to improve the situation of the ocean can apply for the award. 

2024 won HUB Ocean, a non-profit foundation that aims to use AI to retrieve, compare and analyze data to simplify and accelerate research and planning processes for ocean observations.

The jury of the AI for the Oceans Award recognizes the importance of their project for improving the availability and quality of science-based data for research, industry and administration. The platform enables researchers and planners to compare older data or data from other regions with new results, leading to greater efficiency and speed in research and planning processes.