At the beginning of 2011, the GAME Board of Trustees was founded. The declared aim of the Board of Trustees is to promote GAME, as the program particularly raises awareness of the importance of the oceans, promotes cultural exchange as well as the personal development of young scientists, sustainably networks them and qualifies them for the international academic job market. In the future, these aspects are to be communicated more to the general public, not least in order to draw the attention of further sponsors to GAME.

The members of the Board of Trustees are:

Svea Schäfer – technical project manager at the wpd onshore GmbH & Co. KG

"In 2021 I participated in the GAME programme and was impressed. GAME follows a unique concept that lets students from all over the world learn and work independently, teaches good scientific practice and connects in a sustainable way. To this end, GAME brings science to the public through direct and indirect channels, such as public presentations, social media and podcasts, and trains young scientists in science communication. I am looking forward to using my personal experience gained as a Master's student to support the GAME programme now as a member of the Board of Trustees.”

Dr. Inka Bartsch – Scientist at the Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research www.awi.de

"The GAME program not only enables young male and female students to build a first comprehensive scientific network for their career, but also promotes intercultural exchange and an understanding of the diversity of people and living conditions. I consider this aspect in particular to be extremely important at a time when nationalist aspirations are gaining strength in politics worldwide. Only by building personal connections between people of different nationalities do we keep learning to break down our prejudices."

Petra Mahnke – Managing Director and Vice Chairman of the Board of the Gesellschaft für Maritime Technik e.V. (GMT)

"GAME is an innovative initiative in the German research landscape that offers young marine scientists the opportunity to acquire scientific and technical know-how in an international network. One focus of the Gesellschaft für Maritime Technik e.V. (GMT) is the cooperation between science and industry and the close networking of all players in the maritime sector. I am pleased to be able to bring GMT's expertise to GAME and thus contribute to the further development of the program."

Dr. Martina Schmode – Head of the "International Center" at Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel

"I have known GAME from the beginning and remain enthusiastic about this innovative program. Firstly, because marine ecology and global change are among the most important examples of challenges that can only be adequately researched and jointly developed internationally. Secondly, because the format is so innovative. This is because it combines research activities of master students with intensive international and intercultural exchange in the respective tandems and groups. In this way, GAME also makes an important contribution to the early international networking of young scientists and future decision-makers. Against this background, we would like to transfer the GAME format to other disciplines of our university in perspective."

Jens Ambsdorf – Executive Director of the Lighthouse Foundation

"GAME is a wonderful cost-effective way for international scientists to participate in global issues in solidarity. GAME is at the same time a great tool for young people to get to know each other and exchange ideas, and promotes understanding of living and working conditions outside the few large marine research centers."

Nikolaus Gepke – Editor of the magazine "mare"

"Since the mid-1980s, as a scientist on international research cruises, but also as a member of the supervisory board of Elisabeth Mann Borgese's International Ocean Institute, I have been concerned with the question of sustainable technology and, above all, knowledge transfer from the North to so-called emerging countries. For me, GAME represents the first really serious and, above all, sustainable way of meeting this demand. In addition, the program also raises the awareness of young scientists in Germany for the problems in the partner countries. This, too, gives very strong hope that a change in thinking will set in in the future."

Prof. Dr. Martin Wahl, scientist at GEOMAR

"In the beginning, there was the doubt that comes to many scientists at some point: "How generally valid are actually my findings?". This led to the first global comparative experiment on the effect of UV radiation on marine biodiversity in 2000. It quickly became apparent that these studies would be carried out much more conscientiously by students, who would be guided by central coordination but also by local supervisors. In a third step, we implemented binational team building and international exchange between participants. This optimized the supervision, but also - as an invaluable added benefit - the intercultural training of the young scientists. They actually learn during their master's thesis how to cooperate successfully across linguistic, cultural, personal and religious differences - a very enriching experience and an essential prerequisite not only for a scientific career. For me, this is the most valuable component of the GAME project."