On 23 January 2013, Juan Ronco Zapatero from the European Commission's DG MARE division visited COAST. During his one-day visit, exciting topics and new research approaches relating to marine spatial planning were discussed at an international level. One highlight was the active exchange between Juan Ronco Zapatero and students from the Water and Coastal Management and Sustainability Economics and Management degree programmes.

"We really enjoyed listening to Juan Ronco Zapatero's talk about his work at the European Commission. It was nice to get some insight into a possible future career path and hear about the important work that is done at the European Commission." (Lynn Daalman, student WCM)

"It was a great opportunity to gain insight and knowledge on MSP challenges and discuss with an official representative on a supranational decision making level." (Madita Hohenhövel, student WCM)