Foto: Eivind Senneset
Hope everyone had a great Easter!
Finally spring is truly underway, and there’s a lot of exciting and important things happening before summer arrives. This year’s student application numbers for the April 15 deadline are in, and once again, they show that BIO is a very attractive place to study, both at the bachelor’s and master’s level!
The bachelor’s programs in Biology and Molecular Biology have 126 and 67 applicants respectively, who listed us as their first choice, which represents an increase in applications of 2% and 12% compared to 2024. Our master’s programs also show strong numbers, with 4 applicants per study place in Biology and 2.9 applicants per place in Molecular Biology. The integrated master’s programs in Fish Health and Aquaculture (MSc in Engineering) continue to have very solid applicant numbers, with 2.7 and 1.9 applicants per place, respectively.
To maintain and strengthen our strong application numbers, we must continue developing our student recruitment strategies. We need to be visible online, and on the platforms that reach the right target audience. There are plenty of opportunities here to update and create new content that keeps BIO current and relevant for todays and future students.
The news last week about the bankruptcy of Marineholmen RASLab (Recirculating Aquaculture Systems – RAS) is regrettable in many ways. For BIO, this means that access to important infrastructure for both education and research in aquaculture is under pressure. Now, strong collaboration is needed to preserve the expertise that has been built in this field, and to ensure the continuation of knowledge, research activities, and relevant education on RAS, which is an important area for BIO, the University of Bergen, and many of our partners.
Wishing you all a wonderful week!
Ståle