Country: France
City: Nantes
Website: www.ifremer.fr
Background and Experience
Created in 1984, Ifremer is a French public research institute with an annual budget of ~200million euros, 1,500 employees, 5 main centres and 24 coastal stations. It is organised in 4 scientific departments, its largest being the department of Biological Resources and Environment, where ~400 researchers work on the sustainable development of fisheries and aquaculture in a healthy and clean marine environment. There and within the 35-person strong research unit »Biogeochemistry and Ecotoxicology» (BE), the »Laboratory of Biogeochemistry of Metal Contaminants» (LBCM) has worked on mercury marine biogeochemistry and that of trace metals for over 30 years. For the MER+ activities, IFREMER will contribute to the project along several axes: (a) scientific steering committee, dealing with admissions, strategic planning and QA procedures; (b) on site and videoconferencing teaching; and most importantly (c) hosting/supervising MER MSc students for their research part (MSc Theses). Expertise: marine focus and intimate knowledge of contaminant processes, and capabilities to perform research activities from the seashore to the high seas. The added value is that Ifremer is a potential employer of MER MSc awardees.
Certifications: IFREMER is ISO9001-certified and the LBCM is Cofrac-accredited for ISO-17025. Ethics: along with other French institutes (INRA, INSERM, CNRS, INRA, etc…) IFREMER adheres to the French «Charter for Ethics in Research» and has its own «charte de déontologie de la Recherche» since 1/1/2017