Environmental Sustainability - University of Milano - Bicocca South Ari Atoll Hotel

Diamonds Athuruga Maldives

University of Milano – Bicocca

Research on the Tropical Ecosystem

The University of Milano-Bicocca is internationally recognized as one of the most important scientific institutions. It is present in Maldives since 2009 when the Marine Research and High Education Center (MaRHE) was established in Magoodhoo (Faafu Atoll) to improve the field work on the Tropical Ecosystem.

The Planhotel Group is proud to actively support scientific research on their resort islands. Each resort has a Marine Lab in collaboration with MaRHE Center that is hosting our permanent and visiting researchers from the University of Milano-Bicocca. We are also offering an internship program for Master students in Marine Sciences, where early career scientists can gain practical experience and collect data for their final projects. Research interests span from the ecology of coral predators like the Crown-of-Thorns starfish Acanthaster planci, coral restoration, monitoring of the reef and its inhabitants with the support of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) to studying the largest and most ancient corals in the ocean. Our findings have been published in scientific journals and are presented at international conferences.

But science is incomplete without sharing what we have learned with everyone, therefore researchers will be available to satisfy your curiosities about the Maldivian coral reef. This provides a unique opportunity for our guests to experience research in action and, in some cases, actively contribute to data collection and knowledge gathering as part of our Citizen Science projects. Join us for a short talk and ask us how you can be involved!

Marine Biologist
Our Marine Lab Athuruga is situated right next to the ocean and it combines active marine research with educational guest experiences. Here, our guests are...
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Coral Connection Project
The Maldives are a unique and extremely charming place, in particular because of one of the main protagonists of its ocean, the coral. Did you...
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Olive Ridley Project
The reefs of Diamonds Athuruga are home to several marine turtles which you can encounter both snorkelling and diving. Our marine biologists will provide all the information...
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The BIG FISH Network
Swimming with whale sharks can be a magical experience, given that this is the largest fish in the ocean! But despite their impressive size, they...
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Maldives Marine Lab Diary
“Maldives Marine Lab Diary” was born in collaboration with the marine biologists of Milano-Bicocca University to tell the secret stories of the ocean. Discover the fantastic biodiversity...
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