Marine Biology Internship & Scuba Diving, Tenerife

In August I spent a whole month at See You Diving, and it was truly an unforgettable experience. Not only did I gain a lot of practical diving skills and knowledge, but I also made some amazing friends along the way. I participated in a marine biology internship at See You Diving and learnt so much about the beautiful underwater world. Alice is truly an amazing marine biologist with so much knowledge to share. I learnt so many practical techniques for sampling and assessing marine life underwater. After the internship I did my Advanced Open Water certification with Alice and Beltran. I had so much fun and felt comfortable on every dive. The underwater world we explored was breathtaking and every dive offered something new and beautiful to see. I highly recommend this diving school to anyone, whether you're a beginner or looking to improve your skills. It's a perfect combination of learning, adventure, and fun! Thank you, Alice and Beltran, for an incredible month! I can’t wait to come back!

I completed an Erasmus+ internship at Alice and Beltran's diving school (as part of my biology studies) and would like to share my entirely positive experience here: As I had never been diving before my internship, I arrived a little earlier to get my diving license in the days before. I was able to do this directly at the diving school where I also did my internship afterwards. To get my diving license, I had to pass a theoretical test and complete five practice dives. From the very beginning, I noticed how much importance the owners of the diving school placed on safety - both for the divers themselves and for the marine life under water. I was very happy and grateful about this, as I had unfortunately already heard about various negative experiences at other diving schools. Then the internship began, which was roughly divided into a practical and a theoretical part, with the practical part clearly predominating, especially in the second month. The owner of the diving school, Alice, is herself a marine biologist. She informed us about the classification of various animal phyla that can be found in the Atlantic, as well as the structure of the sea as a habitat. I was able to build on my previous zoological knowledge from my basic module at the FU Berlin and deepen this knowledge, especially underwater, when we were supposed to actively identify the individual organisms. We also exchanged ideas about writing a scientific paper and about common statistical methods for data analysis in ecology. This also enabled me to supplement my existing basic knowledge. My boss's main research focus was the seagrass Cymodocea nodosa, which is particularly important for various species of sea turtles, as they use it as their primary food source. We mainly measured the density of seagrass per square meter in a defined area in order to be able to better characterize the species. For these dives we always went to the Abades Reserve, an area protected from boats and anglers in the southeast of the island, about 25 minutes by car from Los Cristianos. During these dives we often saw turtles frolicking on the seagrass meadows to feed. The internship consisted of various other dives: we went diving twice at night to observe nocturnal organisms. We also collected garbage from the ocean on so-called "Dives against Debris", which we then documented on the PADI Aware website and disposed of separately. I really enjoyed that, even though it is always sad to see the underwater world so polluted. We also went on a trip on land to one of the many natural pools on Tenerife to get to know the coastal ecosystem better. Here too, our theoretical knowledge played a major role. Alice also organized a lecture with a scientist from the north of Tenerife who reported on his research on the shark species that live there. My internship mostly consisted of a four-day week with an average of six to seven hours per day. After the dives, tidying up and cleaning the equipment was part of the daily tasks. Since we often had two dives in one day, we made sure to take long enough breaks. Our boss always provided snacks and drinks, which made for a very relaxed and almost familial working atmosphere. I also quickly became friends with the other interns and we went on many trips together outside of the internship. All in all, I would recommend this internship to anyone who is interested in marine biology, as it offers a great balance to the university environment of the course. I am very grateful to have gained additional experience in the field of marine biology through this opportunity. I hope I can come back soon to complete my PADI Advanced Open Water Diver. :-)

Starting this experience from scratch, I had no prior experience with diving. I completed the Open Water course with Beltran, who was patient and always willing to answer all my questions. I felt safe with him, and in my opinion, that's the most important thing when it comes to diving. I also finished the marine biology internship with Alice and it was unforgettable. I needed to build my confidence, and Alice was very kind and understanding whenever I felt overwhelmed by the pace of work underwater. I also greatly appreciated the well-prepared materials and presentations during the marine biology classes. The lessons and Alice’s knowledge were very valuable for my future. I had the opportunity to explore much of the underwater world in Tenerife. For example, you can see turtles in Abades or a lot of stingrays in El bufadero. Overall, the internship program was perfectly organized, providing an enriching education in diving and marine biology. I prefer a personal approach, so I want to thank Alice and Beltran for this experience and wish them continued success in their work, which they are doing so wonderfully.