Two years after DTU Aqua’s MSc program started, the first graduate defended her thesis. She is the first Master of Science in Aquatic Science and Technology.
In September 2009, Vietnamese Giang Ngoc Tuong Nguyen travelled all the way to Denmark in order to begin her studies at the MSc program in Aquatic Science and Technology at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU). In July 2011, she defended her thesis, and became the first to graduate from the program.
“The MSc program has been great, and very different to my previous studies in Vietnam. In Vietnam, my bachelor’s degree consisted of a lot of theory, but in Denmark, I have had more practical exercises and lab work,” says 29 year old Giang.
Studies beneath the surface
Giang achieved her bachelor’s degree at University of Natural Sciences in Hoc Chi Minh City in Vietnam. After she achieved her degree, she began working at the Institute of Oceanography in Nha Trang in Vietnam. At the Institute of Oceanography, she was awarded a Danida scholarship to go to Denmark, and enrol in the two year MSc program in Aquatic Science and Technology.
The MSc program consists of a unique combination of biological, technological and mathematical courses which gives the student cross-curricular requisites for working with global aquatic issues within climate, environment and food supply. The program is offered by DTU in collaboration with University of Copenhagen to Danish students as well as to students from abroad. Today, around half the students are international.
Independent work
Giang did her thesis entitled ‘Tracing the effects of environmental change on the coastal ecosystems in Viet Nam: An example from sediment core studies in Nha Phu Estuary’ as part of a Danish-Vietnamese project called CLIMEEViet. But during her studies at DTU Aqua she gained more than academic qualifications:
“By looking at how the researchers at DTU Aqua work, I have learned to be more independent, and get my own ideas instead of being dependent on a boss or a professor as is the norm in Vietnam. The best thing about the MSc program is that I have found my own way”.
By Kristine Bohmann