OPENING OF SCOTTISH OCEANS INSTITUTE, ST ANDREWS

Motion Text

That this House welcomes the opening of the Scottish Oceans Institute (SOI) by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP; recognises that this marks significant investment by the University of St Andrews, the Scottish Government, the Scottish Funding Council, and other private investors including alumni, for the £16.5 million world-leading centre of excellence in marine science; commends the SOI for working with academic schools to develop scholarship, commercialisation of research and advanced-level teaching as well as creating a global hub for marine research bringing visiting scientists together and encouraging greater understanding of the world's oceans by engaging with the local community and visitors including school children; and recognises that this builds on St Andrews' long-established association with marine research beginning with the Gatty Marine Laboratory in 1896 and, more recently, the transfer of the Sea Mammal Research Unit from the British Antarctic Survey in Cambridge in 1996 and formation of the Scottish Oceans Institute in 2009 to create one of the most dynamic marine research centres in the world.