Bridging the divide between academia and practitioners: Training coastal zone managers

This article describes how on the MSc Coastal Zone Management (CZM) course a range of teaching strategies have been used to bridge the gap between academia and practice in order to develop students who are well equipped for the workplace. The content and delivery of the course has been guided by practitioners in the field, including placement host and employers, to ensure that skills development is embedded into the curriculum. Examples of best practices are discussed with the view to providing recommendations for postgraduate level courses requiring a fine balance of academic content and vocational relevance.