Hi I'm Matt
I study Marine biology at Newcastle University
and this is a video about
our trip to Portugal in third year
As part of Marine Science
you get to work on the north East coast
and you also get the opportunity
to go abroad on a third year
field-course trip
this is important because
it gives you the skills
in a localised environment
which you can then take
to an international setting
We went to Portugal
to conduct research
on where animals live
in the sea-shore
to see the aquaculture industry
in real life 
as part of our research
we showed that
even the smallest animals
living in the intertidal zone
are being affected by climate change
as part of the trip to Portugal
we got to go dolphin watching for a full day
kayak down a gigantic river
and do some of the best surfing in the world
Whilst conducting my research project
I got a real flair for writing research papers
I took this into a Masters' and an MPhil
and I now work on how to industrialise micro-algae
It's really important to go on a third year research trip
because it gives you the opportunity
to explore an environment you're not familiar with
I didn't really need to worry about
the cost of going to Portugal
because the university actually
subsidises the trip
as part of your tuition fees
The benefits of attending an international research trip
are that we had the opportunity
to experience an unfamiliar ecosystem
and apply the skills we had learned
in a new environment
