It’s been actively researched since 1872, and yet the deep-sea remains 95% unexplored, 75% unmapped and with 70% of its species unknown.
Small institutes, especially on islands with easy access to the deep sea, could play a major role in accelerating our understanding of the deep sea. However, major barriers to research stand in our way — usually expense, often manpower or skills, and sometimes technological or data challenges that even the best deep-sea research institutes face.
The Impossible Things Workshop seeks to bring creative thinkers from beyond deep-sea research to help us explore solutions to these challenges. With your help, perhaps the deep sea can become just that little bit more accessible.
What is the Impossible Things Workshop?
The Impossible Things Workshop is a two and a half-day event joining deep-sea scientists with people from beyond marine science to brainstorm ways to reduce the costs and increase the accessibility of deep-sea research. Working in small teams, this workshop will allow professional engineers, data scientists, entrepreneurs and backyard tinkerers to imagine and prototype as many low-cost solutions to deep-sea research challenges as (im)possible.
What will it achieve?
The goal of The Impossible Things Workshop is to share knowledge and ideas for low-cost deep-sea research in an open, collaborative way. From this brainstorming, we hope to spur innovations or new ways of work that enable more institutes to venture farther into the ocean’s depths. All ideas will be publicly shared (hopefully in a publication, with all participants as co-authors) and connections made during the workshop can help take any promising ideas to the next stage of development.
How can I take part?
We have a small panel of invited marine science experts who will share their knowledge across the below deep-sea research challenges. We are now looking for creative thinkers, especially those from outside of marine research, who can help us think differently about the solutions. These places are open to application via the link below. While the workshop is free for selected applicants, please note that we are unable to cover your cost of travel to Madeira.
How do I know if this is a good fit for me?
The beauty (and risk) of this workshop is that we don’t know which skills or ideas or people will make the difference. There will be a lot of serendipity involved. However, we’ve provided some more information about the deep-sea research challenges of small institutes, which may help you see where your skills overlap! Ultimately, we’re looking for people who are excited by the prospect of an impossible challenge, who are fun to work with in small groups and who increase the diversity of thought at the event.
(Im)practical points
