Program Reviews

My stay with the BDRI in Italy as an intern where I did my Master thesis was a very fruitful and great learning experience. All in all, I was involved in the programme for a period of a bit more than 3 months and learned a lot about the ongoing research of bottlenose dolphins. The institute is very professional and takes their research very serious so I felt in good hands while working on my thesis.

During the stay you have to live and work in close quarters with many people from all over the world who have different life styles and experiences so it can be also a time where you grow and have to learn to be flexible and show patience with things you would otherwise never be bothered.

For the programme as I experienced while staying in Italy, there was always one day off during the week , normally it was a Saturday. In good weather conditions we worked out on the boat (which means also the swell of the sea because it makes no sense to go out with high waves as you would not see any dolphins) performing different tasks to conduct surveys. When the weather was poor we stayed in the lab to enter all the data or prepared a new dolphin catalogue, worked on the thesis and many more things.

I would recommend this programme to everyone who is really interested to be involved with the research of marine mammals and if you have the opportunity to work even on a thesis while you stay there I believe strongly that you found in Bruno and the institute BDRI a great supervisor.

I took part in the internship September-December 2012 and went back for another season February-April 2013 in Sardinia. I then went to complete my master's dissertation June-August 2014 at the new study site in Galicia.

I loved my time at the BDRI, and learnt so much about research techniques and recording behavioural observations. All interns are given equal opportunity to perform all tasks during the boat based surveys, since positions on the boat are rotated. Boat based surveys are conducted when the weather conditions are suitable. This is both for safety, and because sighting the dolphins becomes difficult if the weather conditions are poor. If we were lucky enough to be on the boat several days in a row, we were given plenty of breaks to relax and recover.

When weather conditions weren't suitable, we spent time in the lab. Again, jobs were shared around the interns and was a brilliant way to learn skills that are essential to the research. We spent time doing photo identification, using GIS, analysing stomach contents of stranded animals and writing up the data that we collected on the boat. There was a good wifi connection in the lab.

We were given plenty of time in the evenings to socialise with the other interns. We usually got at least one day off at the weekend, but if the weather conditions were good we would go on the boat and get another day off during the week. There are plenty of shops in the town and two supermarkets very close to the apartment, as well as many bar, clubs, restaurants and cafes (many with free wifi). The apartment is quite new, nicely painted and very clean! There is a washing machine in the apartment and space to dry your clothes.

Overall, I had a brilliant experience, which is why I kept going back! I had a lot of support during my master's dissertation, and all of the interns were made to feel appreciated. Together with the research side of the internship, I also really enjoyed the social side. It was a great opportunity to meet people from different nationalities and cultures, and I have made friendships with many of the interns, who I am in regular contact with.

The new BDRI project in O'Grove, Galicia, Spain has nothing to do with the old institute in Sardinia, Italy. As i volunteered in Sardinia with BDRI, i decided to participate at the project once again when it moved to Spain. Although it's a new project in a new area, the quality of the research is very high. Ría de Arousa sustains one of the biggest population of bottlenose dolphins in the area, having an average of 15 individual reaching even the number of more than 50 individuals. Many times, we could spot dolphins even before leaving the harbour. You can study behaviour, photo-id, acoustics, diet of the animals and more. You also have the opportunity to work on your own project under Bruno's supervision, director of the institute. There is a well organised network for stranded animals. We had the chance to participate in necropsy of various animals including risso's dolphin and pilot whale. The facilities are brand new. The office is in front of the sea side having a great view of La Toja island. I really liked the apartment of the interns where i was living as well, it was located in a new building. Everything was new inside (furniture, kitchen, bathrooms, washing machine). As we were trying to be as sustainable as possible, we were using the washing machine only the night hours. I have to admit that we didn't have internet in the house and that was something i missed there, but we could use the internet in the office. The people in O'Grove are very friendly and kind and the food is amazing.The area is a unique place for sports. You can practice any sport and hobbies you can imagine, from climbing to surfing!! Many times Bruno was organising lessons with a surfing school in a very cheap price having a lot of fun with the waves. I would definitely recommend this program!!

I interned at BDRI for 2 months. I have done many internships, and I can with out a doubt say that BDRI has the absolute WORST internship program I have EVER experienced! DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY.

First off, I personally experienced a language barrier with their staff and found it extremely hard to understand in my case.

I personally felt that the boat was not sustainable for the amount of people we had on our particular program. We are required to stay on a small motor boat, with no life jackets for up to 5 hours. Did I mention there are no restrooms on the boat?

The living facility claims to have internet, however the connection is so poor that most of the interns have invested in their own internet stick. An additional cost to the VERY expensive internship. There is no laundry on site. The living space is completely unlivable (for example mold on the walls). There is no hot water in one of the bathrooms, so all 7 interns are required to share ONE bathroom versus multiple. Also, we are required to pay for our own maintenance such as de-clogging the shower drain. The main lock on the front door is falling off the hinges and does not lock securely. The entire place is falling apart.

As far as the leadership, we are expected to work up to 10 days in a row. We barely go out on the boat, even when the weather conditions are good. Lab work consists of mundane work such as organizing journal articles on the main computer. Thesis students are not given a chance to actually work on their thesis! I didn't feel like I felt any appreciation was given for the hard work that we do.

DO NOT PARTICIPATE IN THIS INTERNSHIP!

I was a volunteer here a few years ago and I can honestly say it has been one of the worst volunteer experiences of my life. The staff were unhelpful, rude and obnoxious and although it prides itself as a 'research' institution, free thinking or scientific questioning was not encouraged.

This work itself is fantastic but the staff are unprofessional, very conservative and do not appreciate their volunteers. There is no room for individuality here. Feedback is certainly not welcome. We were all made to feel like we were stupid, couldn't do anything right, and didn't deserve to be there.