SAMS news room

It was a celebration of achievement for students at the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS) graduation ceremony 2025 after years of study – but one Oban woman has had a longer academic journey than most.

Karen MacKechnie was one of 43 graduates and postgraduates who were celebrated at the event in the Corran Halls, Oban today (Friday).

The ceremony marked a major milestone for Karen, whose BSc (Hons) Marine Science with Marine Biology came after six years of study on top of her lab technician job at SAMS, a partner of UHI. During the event she was awarded the SAMS Overall Achievement Award for her dedication to her studies.

Having come to SAMS in 2017 as a lab assistant, with no previous science experience, Karen discovered a love of marine science and is now deputy lead on a plankton monitoring programme at the ocean research institute.

Karen said: “I’m extremely proud of myself, having reached the end of my degree course. It has been a major learning experience for everyone, because I’m the first person to be working at SAMS while doing undergraduate course.

“I’ve also surprised myself as a mature student who hadn’t been in higher education for 20 years before starting the degree.”

Reflecting on the day she arrived at SAMS, she said: “I will always remember the first time working in the lab, I felt at home – like I belonged. I had no fear of anything, even when I started to work with hazardous chemicals! I somehow knew I’d found my calling.”

The ceremony was also a chance for the SAMS and UHI communities to congratulate Tim Awbery, a PhD student whose remarkable academic successes and contribution to student life saw him named both SAMS and UHI student of the year. 

Karen and Tim were among the seven award winners at the graduation ceremony, including fellow graduates Alex Begbie, who won the Tim Boyd Prize for Oceanography and Jaimee Yates, who gained the Academic Excellence Award.

Chloe Blackman won the Johanna Fehling Memorial Prize for the best PhD student research paper; Faith Ojelade won the ACES-STAR Dissertation Prize and Danielle de Jonge was awarded the Graham Shimmield Prize for Biogeochemistry.

Vicki Nairn, UHI Principal and Vice-Chancellor, was the presiding officer and guest speaker was marine geologist and explorer Prof. Heather Stewart, Director of Kelpie Geoscience, who was a member of the deepest diving all-female submersible team.

During an inspirational speech, in which she recalled her deep-sea adventure, Prof. Stewart told graduands: “The course you’ve just completed at SAMS has given you all the skills you need to go into the world. Don’t lose track of where you’ve come from but be ready to turn your hand to the next challenge. There will be many forks in the road, but when those moments happen, maybe say ‘yes’ more then you say ‘no’.”

If you're interested in studying at SAMS, visit: Study — The Scottish Association for Marine Science (sams.ac.uk)