EVMT's Progress - Supporting The Next Generation.

It has been another busy period for the EVMT team providing guidance to young professionals,  continuing to support ongoing project management consultancy contracts, and updating the Company website.

Exeter University Mentoring Scheme

Congratulations to mentee Ilona Pasha who gained a First Class degree in Business Economics from the University of Exeter. EVMT has been supporting Ilona by developing her network . Many thanks to Kathleen McGrail, Clare Southwell, Elisabeth Ellis, Dr Rosanna Duncan, Hannah Muir, and Holly Welford who provided their time to discuss their roles in consultancy and business management and provide excellent professional guidance.

EVMT was pleased to confirm that another mentee, Maddie Adamson, was placed on an internship at the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton sponsored by EVMT. Maddie is supporting eDNA research;

"I'm currently working on an environmental DNA (eDNA) project using samples collected from around the UK to help monitor marine biodiversity and support the development of nanopore sequencing techniques. A large part of my work involves preparing DNA samples for sequencing by carrying out PCR and other molecular laboratory techniques. Once the samples have been sequenced, we're able to use DNA barcodes to identify the organisms present in the water. This research aims to improve passive biodiversity monitoring and contribute towards a better understanding of marine ecosystems in UK waters."

"I'm also learning how to analyse the sequencing data using R and other bioinformatics software. This involves processing metabarcoding data to produce operational taxonomic unit (OTU) and taxonomy tables, which allow us to identify and compare the species detected in each sample."

Thanks to Dr Claire Evans and Holly Evans for setting up this opportunity for Maddie. EVMT sponsored a similar internship a few years ago for another Exeter student, Beth Archer.

Blast From The Past

EVMT was pleased to catch up with Munashe Mutundwa who undertook work experience with the Company in 2024.

Munashe recently achieved a 2.1 in Chemistry from The University of Manchester and wanted to discuss future opportunities in Project and/or Financial (Business) Management. It was great to catch up with her and EVMT wish her the best of luck in the future. Munashe is applying for both internships and positions and EVMT is happy to provide a reference for this hard-working and intelligent young woman.

Back To The Future

EVMT has agreed to sponsor and provide project management assurance for a Saltmarsh Fish Bio-diversity PhD commencing October this year. Candidates are being assessed over the next few weeks and it is hoped that the successful candidate will be in place by September. EVMT’s Managing Director, Dr mark Townley, was awarded his PhD for research into the effects of pollutants upon the development of young fish in the late 1970s so it feels like going back to the future. The new research seems to be a natural continuation of the earlier research albeit 40 years later! 

This will be the third PhD to be fully or part-funded by EVMT at Swansea University since 2021. The research will be supervised by Dr Nicole Esteban, Dr Penny Neyland and Dr Richard Unsworth with project management assurance and training provided by EVMT.

Next Steps?

EVMT is keen to utilise the expertise and knowledge gained working with Swansea University and the National Oceanography Centre marine restoration and conservation research projects to provide Bid/Project Management guidance and assurance. EVMT is also able to provide a Bid/Project Management training module based upon real world examples to MRes/PhD students in Marine Bio-science or related subjects, using existing training material successfully delivered at Swansea University in 2025 and 2026.

If interested in this key capability please contact EVMT’s Social Media and Marketing Manager, Emma, at evmtprogresslimited@gmail.com for further information and quotes. Further details can be found on the Company website at www.evmtprogresslimited.com/.