Alumnus portrait: "Important to implement the knowledge in a valuable way"

Alexander Stockhaus has a master's degree in marine biology from Stockholm University and now works as an environmental consultant specialising in pollution in aquatic environments at the engineering consultancy Niras. He found the field studies to be one of the most fun and important parts of his education.

Alexander outside Niras' office in central Stockholm. Photo: Jenny Rosen

The job involves both work in the office and in the field. Inside Niras' office on Hantverkargatan in central Stockholm, Alexander compiles data, works with geographic information systems (GIS) and writes reports. He is also responsible for some equipment - overhauling, calibrating and other work to make sure the equipment works well in the field. "It's a very open and friendly workplace," says Alexander.

"If I'm in the field, the days are quite different and it depends a lot on what kind of field work we're doing. It can vary from travelling by boat, fishing, taking water and sediment samples, to working on land, where I take sounding data or sample groundwater pipes."

Love to be out in the field and working on the water

The picture shows probes, which Alexander is calibrating to prepare for field work. Photo: Jenny Rosen

What Alexander remembers most from his education is the many field studies on Askö and Tjärnö.

"My classmates and I always had fun and it was a bit like a summer camp, where we learned a lot of interesting things about the oceans both practically and theoretically."

He also remembers the year when he wrote his master's thesis and says that he got to use a lot of what he learned during his studies. One tip he wants to give to future students is that if you write a good thesis, send it to someone who awards prizes for thesis work.

During his biology studies, Alexander also took the course Baltic Sea Ecosystem: Applications, Modeling and Management. Here he met several of the Baltic Sea Centre's researchers and advocacy and analysis officers, who highlighted the link between theoretical studies and society. The course is taught both at the Baltic Sea Centre on campus, and at the Askö Laboratory. Alexander particularly liked the field part of the course.

"I love being out in the field and working on the water!"

Still benefits from the course

Alexander says that he values the holistic perspective on the role of research in society that the course provided, something that he thinks is important in his current work role.

"The course was very different from other courses I have studied, in a way that I appreciated very much, to see how research interacts with society and how it all works in practice. It's one thing to just sit and learn about species or pollution or such, but to actually try to implement the knowledge in a valuable way is something completely different and I also think that it is very important to understand before going out into the "real world".

Advice for future students

Alexander in the lab at Niras. Photo: Jenny Rosen

Alexander's advice is to do what interests you, but always be open to trying new things.

"You never know where you will end up, I never thought I would write both my bachelor's and master's thesis on pollution in sediments and definitely not that I would work with it afterwards. I always thought I would work with fish and fisheries in the Baltic Sea."

He also has tips for those who are about to complete their education.

"Everyone gets so worried when it's getting close to graduation and to start applying for jobs, but what I did was to start looking at different roles and companies I was interested in more than half a year before graduation, and contact them to better understand what they did. The job I have today I got in a similar way. What I think can be good to keep in mind is to be proactive, send unsolicited applications, contact interesting people, because they are often open to talk to you if you contact them in a good way."

Read more about studying marine biology at Stockholm University

Read more about the course Baltic Sea Ecosystem: Applications, Modeling and Management

Text: Jenny Rosen