Sebastian Hoetzel

Report of GLOMAR PhD student Sebastian Hoetzel about his participation in the Pollen and Spore Master Class, Utrecht, The Netherlands, 8 – 12 July 2013

The workshop took place for the second time and gathered 45 palynologists (30 participants and 15 lecturers) from more than 15 countries. The major goal was an overview of the evolution of pollen and spores through time and the application to the exploration industry. Every day a different period was on focus and the most important species as well as major evolutionary steps were discussed. The lecturers were experts on each period either from academia or from the industry. During a daily microscope session there was always time to discuss trouble shooting slides and species which you could discuss with the experts or with the entire group. Besides the lectures the workshop offered many social activities, e.g. a field trip to the Natural History Museum of Maastricht and to a nearby cave system where the Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary is exposed.

The atmosphere of the workshop was very open and it was easy to speak with everybody, either participant or lecturer. Therefore it is possible to establish a small network which might be interesting for your career.

If you plan to have a career in the oil industry this course might be the most useful palynological course at all. It gives the overview of each geological time frame providing a good start for every project. Furthermore, you meet people working in the industry so that you can make important contacts.

For enabling me to participate at the Pollen and Spore Master Class I thank GLOMAR very much.