MIT Sea Grant developed an international internships program through collaborative partnerships at MIT and in Norway with funding awarded by the National Sea Grant Program. Norway is the world’s largest producer of farmed Atlantic salmon and a top exporter of seafood, while the US remains the largest importer of these products. MIT Sea Grant partnered with MIT International Science and Technology Initiatives (MISTI) to recruit and support six MIT students for 10-week internships with host institutes in Norway focusing on farming Atlantic salmon. Students gain knowledge of systems and technologies related to offshore aquaculture, including autonomy for offshore farms and sensors for monitoring fish health and structure integrity.
In 2025, two students completed summer internships with the SINTEF Ocean Aquaculture Robotics and Autonomous Systems Laboratory (ACE-Robotic Lab) in Trondheim, Norway. Beckett Devoe (MIT ’26) focused on machine learning for feeding optimization, and Tony Tang (MIT ’27) worked on the simulation of an underwater vehicle-manipulator system to navigate farms and repair damages on cage nets. The students also had access to industrial-scale farms operated with SINTEF Ocean and SalMar, the second largest salmon farmer in the world.
In 2026, four students will complete internships with the SINTEF Ocean lab and the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) Field Robotics Lab. The students will have access to the SINTEF Ocean farms (pictured below) and NTNU’s aquaculture facility, InnoSEA. MIT Sea Grant will discuss how the program supports student paths into the industry while building US-Norway collaboration to advance knowledge of offshore aquaculture.