Svenja Halfter, Ph.D.

Zooplankton ecologist & biogeochemist

I believe:

(1) Science should be accessible for everyone regardless of age, gender, nationality or socialeconomic background.

(2) My projects are only finished, once results are properly communicated.

(3) Everybody can understand science, and it only relies on good scicomm skills!

Teaching

During my time in Australia, I tutored and lectured in the following university courses:

University of Tasmania

  • KSM201 Marine Resource Management and Conservation (Mar-Jun 2021, Feb-Jun 2022)
  • KSM202 Marine and Antarctic ecosystems: (Jul 2018/2019, Aug 2020)
  • KSA715 Southern Ocean zooplankton ecology (May 2019)
  • KSM308 Marine ecology (Feb 2019/2020)

Macquarie University

  • CAPSTAN Voyage 3 (Mar 2020)

Science communication

As part of the National Science Week Australia, I was involved in the Young Tassie Scientist program in 2018, 2020 and 2021. I talked to over 1000 school kids from Kindergarten to Year 12 in schools all over Tasmania (2018 and 2021 in person, 2020 virtually), created videos about my life and work as marine scientist and did a radio interview for ABC Hobart. Watch my video here!

I introduced the students to zooplankton, in particular copepods (August 2018).

I also enjoy giving public talks, for example in March 2020 as part of the International Women’s Day in the Little Creatures Brewery in Fremantle or for the NZ Antarctic Society in March 2023.