Heidi Burdett, UK

Post Graduate, Ocean Science

"I was part of the 2005 – 06 Ocean Science group and it was honestly the best module I ever did.

I am now studying for a PhD at Glasgow University, looking at sulphur cycling in marine coralline algae. Without my Part IV certificate I would not have been accepted onto the PhD – SCUBA diving is an essential and regular part of my project, all conducted under HSE commercial diving regulations. I have sampling dive trips planned until November 2011 and so far I have dived along the west coast of Scotland and in Brazil, with trips planned to Newfoundland, Nova Scotia and hopefully Greenland next year!

I love my project and I wouldn’t be where I am now had it not been for the fantastic opportunity that Plymouth University offers. It’s great fun, gets you out of lecture theatres for a day every week, you make great friends and, most importantly, you get the best dive training around.

If you have the opportunity to do the commercial diving course, do not turn it down, you never know where it might take you."