Exploring new opportunities with Plymouth University

Plymouth University is breaking new ground after announcing that a renowned polar adventurer has joined the institution as its explorer-in-residence.

Plymouth-born Antony Jinman will work closely with the University on a wide range of innovative student opportunities and has based his Education through Expedition (ETE) team on the campus.

This closer affiliation builds on a long-standing partnership between Antony and the University and will facilitate an even wider range of innovative student opportunities.

Already this term, 93 students have volunteered to work with ETE, hoping to follow in the footsteps of Laura Hobbs and Emily Frank, who were so inspired by their work with Antony and his team on Baffin Island that they have returned to postgraduate study with the University in a related discipline. And current Plymouth student Henry Evans is competing for a place on the team for the International Scott Centenary Expedition (ISCE) being led by Antony in 2012.

As well as working on exciting curriculum development opportunities for students in the University’s Faculty of Health, Education and Society, Antony is poised to deliver inspirational guest lectures, link up ETE with the Students’ Union Expedition Society and, based on the expedition theme, explore mutually beneficial links with schools to educate and inspire young people in wider environmental and sustainability issues.

Antony has welcomed the increased interaction with Plymouth University staff and students as his business has evolved and said: “My work connects with so many different facets of the University curriculum and being offered this title and office base on campus takes our partnership to an exciting new level.

“Together we can enhance the Plymouth student experience, expand our work with schools across the region and further afield, develop unique research projects and underpin the University’s reputation in line with its motto Explore, Dream, Discover.”

In 2010, the University helped Antony secure funding for an expedition to the North Pole. There, he collected valuable sea ice samples for researchers, complementing their work to under understand global climate change.

He has since gone on to develop significant education and outreach work through ETE, working with schools across the world. ETE provides an online interactive learning platform that links explorers, researchers and scientists working in the field on live expeditions with that of teachers and students in the classroom with specific emphasis on subjects including Science, Geography, Art, History and Citizenship.

Looking ahead, in addition to the ISCE project next year, Antony hopes to complete an expedition around the Devon Islands in Canada to highlight the maritime connections to the region. This is particularly important as the University is celebrating its 150th anniversary of the founding of the School of Navigation in the city.

ENDS