September turned into October, and I was excited for what the next week had to offer. But first, weekend! The weather allowed and I enjoyed a wonderful hike to Phare de Minou, a stunning lighthouse west of Brest. The track led me along the coast, past old forts and current military
areas and through green forests of windswept oaks and chestnuts. It was October but really felt like Swedish
summer and I even went for a quick swim in the Atlantic Ocean.

New week, new exciting meetings and interactions. First of all, the minute I met the other laureates I knew it was going to be a successful week. We immediately had
a lot to talk about and it felt like we had known each other for a long time.

At Ifremer (L’Institut Français de Recherche pour l’Exploitation de la Mer), we were introduced to their role in marine research and the facilities the operate – very impressive. M. Sylvain Godoc and M. Arthur de Pas showed us around and we visited the fish laboratory, listened to interesting presentations on micro plastic
analysis, effects from underwater noise (by Finnish laureate Rami) and plastic degradation (by Danish laureate Asal) and got to dive down in the exploration of the deep sea. It was a great morning that ended with M. Godoc showing us a lunch place at Plage de Saint-Anne before dropping us of at the Institut Universitaire Européen de la Mer (IUEM).

At IUEM, Mme.Justine Roddier, international relations officer, and Professor Jacques Déverchère informed us
about their transdisciplinary work within marine sciences and possible ways for us to collaborate. Also, Mme Doddier also encouraged us to visit the ISBlue project
platform for potential funding and research exchanges which seemed very interesting. Our afternoon ended with us getting to try the latest recording equipment within
ISBlue, a great icebreaking experience (we had just known each other for less than 12 hours) that resulted in a brief greeting to the French Institute.