SCHOLARSHIP
OPPORTUNITIES
for EARLY CAREER SCIENTISTS
EARLY CAREER SCIENTIST WORKSHOP
DECEMBER 6 - 12, 2025
ABOUT THE SCHOLARSHIP
Through hosting hundreds of students each year, it is has become apparent that there is a lack of practical and applied opportunities for many young scientists to continue their career growth following graduation from universities. Many early career scientists find the job search challenging and requirements of entry level jobs to be daunting. They are often expected to have ‘real-world’ experience, but there are limited opportunities to acquire these necessary and desired skills. For example, young scientists may be expected to conduct field activities, handle data entry, work through analysis of datasets, or prepare draft reports, however they may have not yet had an opportunity to gain experience with these tasks. Therefore, early career scientists can find it difficult to gain entry in science jobs and to advance in their field.
Research methods, technology, and analytical tools are constantly evolving in science and conservation, and there is a need for early scientists to have the opportunity to be involved in workshops that expose them to these methods. In addition, many scientists and conservationists work for small non-profits, non-governmental organizations, or governmental agencies where the availability for mentoring of younger scientists can be limited.
To help provide this valuable career development, the Bimini Shark Lab has partnered with the McPike-Zima Foundation to offer an Early Career Marine Scientist Workshop scholarship. The scholarship will be provided to 12 participants for 6 night / 7 day course in Bimini, The Bahamas focused on how to develop research projects, analyze datasets, and put the information into ecological context. The course includes roundtrip travel from Ft Lauderdale, Florida and South Bimini, food, lodging, and field activities. See eligibility requirements below.
ELIGIBILITY
For the purposes of this workshop, early career scientists are defined as individuals within the first five years of graduating with an undergraduate/bachelors degree (graduated between 2020-2025 - this includes scientists who may currently be working in marine science or completing a graduate degree in related areas).
​
This opportunity is intended to strengthen and build upon the analytical and research design skills typically acquired during undergraduate studies. As such, participants must hold a degree in the biological sciences (marine biology, ecology, environmental science, zoology, or a related field). There are no specific age restrictions, nor is an advanced graduate degree required.
​
The course will be conducted in English. However, we are committed to creating an inclusive learning environment and will adapt the pace and content to support participants for whom English is not a first language.
​
Participants are required to bring a laptop capable of running the R platform. While extensive experience with R is not necessary, participants must have the software installed and functioning prior to arriving in Bimini.
​
This workshop is open to participants from the Americas, including North, Central, and South America, as well as the Caribbean. All participants must be able to transit through the United States, as travel to Bimini and emergency transport are routed through the U.S. (Note: Bahamian participants will have the option of traveling via Nassau or Grand Bahama.)
WORKSHOP
DESCRIPTION
The goal of this workshop will be to guide participants as they work through development, methods, and analysis of an example conservation project. The Bimini Shark Lab has decades worth of research experience in the region and workshop participants will be able to use a subset of our data in order to gain experience with real world examples. They will learn how to formulate hypotheses that are based on conservation missions, understand methods necessary to collect data, how to import data to relevant software platforms, examples of the analytical processes, and how to prepare reports for conservation. These examples will allow participants to be well prepared for future conservation or research projects, and thereby improve the overall efficiency of their efforts.
The area surrounding Bimini has a diverse assemblage of marine ecosystems and species. The workshops and lectures will be paired with multiple immersive field trips which will allow the participants to fully appreciate the complexity of healthy marine ecosystems and experience habitats that they may not have the opportunity to see at home. For example, discussions of habitat use will be paired with visits to various seagrass, mangrove, or reef ecosystems to see the assemblage of species and the complexity of the marine ecosystem. Conversations about anthropogenic disturbances will be paired with visiting the local area being developed for an expanded resort, and observe the impact to adjacent ecosystems and species. Over the course of the week, we aim to balance field trips and with lectures / discussions, as well as allow time for participants to experience the culture of Bimini.​​​​
Course Leaders:
​
The workshop will be co-instructed by Dr. Matthew Smukall (a Fisheries Ecologist and president of Bimini Shark Lab) and Dr. Jill Brooks (a Fisheries Ecologist for Lotic Environmental Ltd.). Together, Dr. Smukall and Dr. Brooks have a diverse background in both marine and freshwater research. They have helped to develop and oversee several research projects, including funding acquisition, permitting, data collection protocols, analysis, report writing, and promoting the implementation of conservation measures.
Dr. Matt Smukall
Dr. Jill Brooks
Workshop Classroom Activities:
-
Identify the environmental issue of concern (i.e., marine protected area, species conservation, fishing sustainability, etc.). An overview of shark fisheries will be used as an example of species with conservation concern and what attributes of their life history lead to this status.
-
Identify the casual pathways affecting the issue (development, pollution, overfishing). Habitat destruction and overfishing for the fin trade has been a major driver of population decline in sharks, which will be discussed for conservation implications. We will visit the mangrove lemon shark nursery as well as the ongoing habitat destruction for a resort for participants to better understand the local conservation challenges.
-
Determine what types of datasets are informative for the focal conservation goal (movement, habitat use, species abundance, composition, etc.). A lecture will focus on research techniques commonly used in marine science research and the data these can provide.
-
Determine what data is available and what still needs to be assessed. If data already exists, limited funding and effort should be focused on addressing data gaps.
-
Analyze the existing datasets based on the research questions. Use Shark Lab lemon shark datasets as an example series for the conservation approach. How can these data be incorporated to conservation planning and management. Provide participants with coding examples in R-platform software and allow them to run example datasets through statistical models.
-
Communicate results through presentations and draft reports. How can reports be turned into action? Discuss various management approaches from local MPAs to multi-national treaties and agreements, cover the fisheries management plans and examples of CITES, IUCN etc.
-
At the conclusion of the course, participants will be asked to present an example conservation project they would like to undertake in their home area, and the research process they would use for this project.
​​
​
Workshop Field Activities*:
-
Interacting with juvenile lemon sharks in pristine mangrove habitat
-
Snorkelling with free swimming Caribbean reef sharks, blacktip sharks, lemon sharks and nurse sharks
-
Interacting with southern stingrays on a white sand beach
-
Snorkelling coral reef, mangrove and seagrass habitats
-
Snorkelling with sea turtles at the famous SS Sapona shipwreck
-
Potential encounters with spotted eagle rays, Atlantic spotted dolphins, or bottlenose dolphins and more marine wildlife
(*all activities are weather and tidal dependent)
WHAT'S INCLUDED
The scholarship will include:
-
Round trip charter flights from Fort Lauderdale (Tropic Ocean Airways at Sheltair) to Bimini International Airport (BIM). (Exceptions made for Bahamian scholars who will fly to/from Nassau or Grand Bahama)
-
Accommodations will be shared with fellow scholars at the Bimini Shark Lab (2 twin bunk beds per room, 2 shared bathrooms and shared common areas).
-
Breakfast, lunch and dinners will be prepared for you by our station crew. While we are able to accommodate vegetarian meals, unfortunately we are unable to provide vegan meals or accommodate specialty diets. Due to the limited medical facilities on Bimini, we are unfortunately unable to safely host people with major medical conditions or potentially life threatening allergies.
-
Course instruction and all field activities​​​
​
While we aim to make this opportunity as all inclusive as possible, the following is not included in the scholarship:
-
Airfare to/from Fort Lauderdale from your location (we encourage applicants to apply for travel grants where possible)
-
Meals/Accommodations prior to arrival in Bimini and after departure from Bimini
-
Additional snacks, drinks, or extra meals out while in Bimini
-
Personal equipment such as: Laptop/computer, snorkel gear
-
Travel Insurance (DAN insurance and SafetyWing insurance are affordable options we recommend) - Travel insurance with repatriation to your home country is REQUIRED.​
​
REMINDER: Participants will be staying at the field station and must be comfortable sharing dorm style rooms and be comfortable with dogs (2 in-house). Due to the limited medical facilities on Bimini, we are unfortunately unable to safely host people with major medical conditions or potentially life threatening allergies.
The course will include long days in the field, including changing weather (hot sun, wind, wet, cold, or rain), snorkeling & swimming in open water, and boating in changing ocean waters (may have choppy and rolling conditions). Participants should be able to safely board and disembark from small boats using a small step ladder, and navigate steps between the dock and the boat, with or without assistance as needed.
For the safety of all involved, participants must be comfortable on small boats and swimming in open water.
SUBMIT APPLICATION
Please be prepared to submit TWO professional letters of recommendation along with your CV/Resume to the application. Application form must be filled out entirely in order to complete the submission.
​
IMPORTANT NOTE: We expect to learn about you from YOU in this application form. Any obvious use of AI to complete answers on this application will result in immediate disqualification.​
​
Applications must be complete and submitted by no later than JULY 14th, 2025 in order to be considered. ONLY selected applicants will be contacted by email on or before August 30th, 2025. Please note, we are unable to provide feedback on individual applications.
