ScienceDiver International Conference

ScienceDIVER in the Blue Economy Era

Educational Approaches – Operational Challenges – Occupational Modes

International Conference
20 & 21 April 2023 Valletta, Malta (hybrid)

ScienceDIVER is organizing an international conference about the current challenges and future of scientific diving with a focus on the educational approaches, operational challenges and occupational modes of scientific diving.

The conference aims to raise awareness about the training standards, professional recognition and mobility of scientific divers and the need for the establishment of a common framework for scientific diving.

It is a hybrid event to welcome the exchange of views from around the world and will be hosted at the Mediterranean Conference Centre in Valletta, Malta between 20-21 April 2023.

ScienceDiver International Conference Sessions

• Keynote Speech: Scientific diving as part of UCH management in Greece. The Ephorate of Underwater Antiquities, new challenges, and perspectives (Dimitrios Kourkoumelis, Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports)
• Surveying as a common reference for underwater science (Konstantinos Tokmakidis, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki)
• An interdisciplinary underwater research project: the case of Early Neolithic settlement of Agios Petros (Panagiotis Tokmakidis, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki)
• Building a new scientific diving framework from scratch. The Greek case (Alex Tourtas, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki)
• First amphibalanus amphitrite adhesion strength data on the self-polishing coatings off the Aegean Sea (Ibrahim Kirkiz, Levent Cavas, Dokuz Eylül University)
• Divers can have a role to protect underwater cultural heritage: the new CMAS program (Hakan Oniz, Akdeniz University)
• Marine weather forecasts and their significance for the design of scientific diving operations (Dr. Georgia Kalantzi, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki)

• More than 20 years of training in Occupational Scientific Diving at work in Europe, The European Scientific Diving Panel (ESDP) model (Alain Norro, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences)
• Hazard Identification, Risk assessment and First Aid training for Science Divers (Guy Thomas, DAN Europe)
• The pilot courses of the ScienceDIVER project, overview and focus on the Italian case study (Fabio Bruno, University of Calabria)
• About benefits of courses for scientific divers in Bulgaria, topic trends, consecutive methodology changes, social demand and investigations of water habitats by scientific diving methods (Dimitar Kozhuharov, University of Sofia St. Kliment Ohridski)
• Scientific diving training in Greece. Before and after ScienceDiver project (Kimon Papadimitriou, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki)

• Keynote Speech: Scientific Diving – extended range (Steffen Scholz, Institute for Automation and Applied Informatics)
• Operational challenges in biological sampling underwater – A case study from the Red Sea (Jennifer Tersteegen, Aalto University)
• Geological sampling technics for scientific divers (Richard Stanulla, CMAS Scientific Diving)
• Research and protection of shallow water archaeological sites around the Alps (Hellena Seidl da Fonseca, Naturhistorisches Museum Wien)
• Doing research underwater: academic education, diving skills or commercial certification? (Paulo Costa, NOVA FSCH)
• Overcoming challenges to conducting underwater behavioural research on coral reefs (Claire Dell, State University of New York)
• Molecular and skeletal fingerprints of scleractinian coral biomineralization: From the sea surface to mesophotic depths (Tali Mass, University of Haifa)
• The deepest Spot in the northern Adriatic Sea; a deep-sea experience in an overall shallow sea (Rouven Metternich, MareMundi, Verein zur Förderung der Meereswissenschaften)
• Challenges in researching the deep sea cultural heritage in the Bulgarian Black Sea (Pavel Georgiev, Center of Underwater Archeology)
• When Neither Commercial or Recreational Diving are Solutions: Navigating the Challenges of Scientific Diving in Underwater Archaeology (Alexandre Monteiro, HTCCFE FCSH/UNL, Lisbon Nova University)

• Challenges of scientific diving in the absence of a legal framework. From the experience of the FRI scientific diving team in Greece (Vasillis Papathanasiou, Fisheries Research Institute in
  Greece)
• Towards a common legal framework for Scientific Diving. Lessons learnt and future steps (Themistoklis Ioannidis, Atlantis Consulting S.A.)
• Lessons learnt from the ScienceDIVER project (Angelos Manglis, Atlantis Consulting S.A.)
• Sciencediver.jobs – bridging the skill gap in the Blue Economy, Scientific Diving and Blue Technologies sectors. (Vasiliki Drouga, Atlantis Consulting S.A.)

DECLARATION for the establishment of a common framework of Scientific Diving in Europe Adopted in the context of the ScienceDIVER International Conference in Valletta, Malta, April 20th -21st 2023.

Τhis is the final version of the COMMON DECLARATION as adopted in the context of the ScienceDIVER International Conference in Valletta, Malta, April 20th -21st 2023.

IMPORTANT DEADLINES:
Abstract submission: 15 th March 2023
Abstract acceptance confirmation: 20 th March 2023
Deadline for full paper submission: 31 st May 2023

PHYSICAL PARTICIPATION:
Speakers who plan to visit Malta for the Conference, can use the attached infopack, with information about arriving in Malta, the Conference Centre and the proposed Accommodation for the conference days.

DOWNLOAD INFOPACK