Ocean Field and Data Intern - Internship Program

COVE

Dartmouth, Nova Scotia

Host Company: Centre for Marine Applied Research (CMAR)

27 Parker Street

Dartmouth, NS, B2Y 4T5

Who is COVE?
Since our launch in 2018, COVE has been on a mission to connect people, ideas, resources, and assets to propel solutions and sustainable growth for Canadas marine sector. COVE has been central to the creation of a large cluster of companies and generating a best-in-class start-up ecosystem. COVE provides strategic network-building opportunities, connections, and thought leadership amongst the global ocean tech community and runs programs to foster the development of the workforce, the acceleration of ocean tech product releases, and the success of new ventures by start-ups, scaleups, and SMEs. These programs and COVEs ability to nationally harness multi-disciplinary skills and capabilities within the marine ecosystem is an enabler in solving industry challenges, generating economic benefits, and providing value to investors. To support new talent entering the sector we facilitate a summer internship program for students from across Canada.

What is the COVE Internship Program?
We are looking for bright, talented individuals at the post-secondary level, interested in the marine sector, who are looking to gain valuable, hands-on work experience. You will be placed with a host company in the marine sector and will be working on a core project for their business. Projects are interdisciplinary and students will be collaborating closely with other students and staff from different disciplines.

The COVE internship is a collaboration with numerous companies that are leaders in the marine and marine technology sector. We are diligent in placing students in a role with a company that is well aligned with their discipline of study, skill set, and future career ambitions. Canadas marine sector is growing and thriving and contributes millions of dollars to our national economy on an annual basis. COVE is seeking interns who are Canadas best and brightest to be part of this phenomenal growth.

Internship Eligibility:

• Open to post-secondary students across all disciplines (i.e. Environmental Sciences, Statistics, Engineering, Computer Science, Business, Marketing and Communications, etc.)
• Students must be actively enrolled in a post-secondary program at the time of the summer internship
• Based on the required skillsets, placements are typically geared towards second-year undergraduate students and above
• Collaborative Self-starter
• Open to learning
• Have experience or an interest in the marine sector
• International students must be eligible to work in Canada and have a valid study/work permit

Program Highlights:

• 16- week full-time paid (min. $22/hr) employment from May- August 2025
• Project-based learning opportunity with a host company in Nova Scotia
• Professional Development sessions
• Mentorship from industry professionals
• Networking Opportunities

The Opportunity:

CMAR is an independent division of Perennia Food and Agriculture Corp. which leads and supports applied research projects that advance the management, long-term sustainability, growth, and resilience of Nova Scotias marine coastal resources.

Our diverse group of scientists and specialists conduct research and participate in science advisory work to improve the management and development of ecologically and economically valuable marine resources. We promote innovation and science-based decision-making by collecting and analyzing biophysical and socio-economic data.

CMAR operates under a flexible hybrid work environment. The intern can expect to work in-person at CMARs COVE office 3 times per week, at minimum, and will have the option to work from home for the remainder of the workweek. CMAR will provide a laptop computer, and access to all necessary software (R/RStudio, Microsoft Suite, etc.). The Ocean Field and Data Technician Intern is not required to have access to a vehicle. There may be opportunities for them to be involved in some fieldwork throughout the internship if interested. The Ocean Field and Data Technician Intern will be trained and supported by CMARs Coastal Monitoring Program Principal Scientist, Field Technician and Coordinator. They will also have overhead support and mentorship from CMARs Research Director.

What you will be doing:

In Nova Scotia, there is limited available environmental data about our coastal conditions. To fill this data gap, CMAR has operated an extensive Coastal Monitoring Program throughout the province since 2017. Each year, CMAR coordinates the retrieval and deployment of over 200 oceanographic sensors collecting high resolution coastal temperature, dissolved oxygen, and salinity data. By summer 2025, CMAR will have collected nearly a decade of oceanographic data at some locations. These large datasets need to be processed into a usable format before being made publicly available. In this position, the Ocean Field and Data Technician will assist in fieldwork preparation, the deployment of oceanographic sensors, and processing of oceanographic data. The Ocean Field and Data Technician may have the opportunity to participate in hands-on experiments to improve program outcomes and assist with other key program tasks on an as-needed basis.

The key project deliverable will be oceanographic datasets that will be made publicly available for government, industry, and science researchers. The Ocean Field and Data Technician will process and run quality control testing on Coastal Monitoring Program data using CMAR-developed R code. The Intern will collaborate with CMAR staff to prepare the processed data for publishing on the Nova Scotia Open Data Portal in accordance with the FAIR data principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable). The Ocean Field and Data Technician may also generate summary reports of the processed data using RMarkdown, which will be published on the CMAR website. Additionally, the Ocean Field and Data Technician will assist with implementing CMAR-developed R code to check data from sensor validation tests to ensure sensors are operating as expected before deployment.

What you will bring:

• The Ocean Field and Data Technician Intern must have strong coding experience using R/RStudio and be comfortable working with large datasets. Experience using Git/GitHub and RMarkdown is an asset. Experience developing or working with data within a database is an asset.
• The Ocean Field and Data Technician Intern must be detail oriented and organized, recognizing the importance of following standard operating procedures and upkeeping sound metadata records to ensure quality data products are produced.
• The Ocean Field and Data Technician Intern must be comfortable working both independently, and collaboratively in a small team. Experience with conducting oceanographic fieldwork, including the deployment and maintenance of oceanographic sensors would be considered an asset. The Ocean Field and Data Technician Intern must be comfortable working outside in all weather conditions and working on small near-shore vessels.
• The successful applicant would preferably be entering the 3rd or 4th year of their post-secondary degree. Prior education or work experience in the ocean sector or in a related science field is not required but would be considered an asset.

COVE is seeking to improve the diversity and inclusion of our sector and would therefore strongly encourage those who are traditionally underrepresented in the marine sector (women, BIPOC, immigrants, etc.) to apply.

Interested in gaining valuable work experience within the marine sector? Please apply online by clicking Apply.The deadline for submission is 11:59 pm ADT, Sunday, February 2nd, 2025. We thank all candidates for their interest; however, only those selected for an interview will be contacted.