Stine and Marilena have one year left of their bachelor's degree in biology. The two Nord-students are combining innovation and entrepreneurship with blue and green growth, and together they have developed the company Seacirc under the slogan #GoPlasticFree.

– The world is flooded with plastic that nature is unable to decompose. Different kinds of organisms, particularly in the oceans, absorb a large amount of that plastic. As we all know, plastic is a growing issue, which calls for action.

Providing alternatives to plastic

Seacirc aims to provide businesses with the tools and knowledge they need to become plastic free, for instance by recommending good alternatives to plastic.

– We're hoping to turn this project into a fulltime job, and we're both planning to do a master's degree to specialise in this field, they say.

Stina and Marilena plan to graduate in 2020.

Financial support from Nord

– Is it possible to combine studying with running a start-up business?

– Combining the Searcirc project with a full time study load is not ideal. However, our experience suggests that this might be the best time to do it anyway. Nord has an excellent funding system for students who want to create a start-up business, which is very useful.

The Nord students Marilena Frye and Stina Skånhoff are now preparing their business for the next step, which is introducing Seacirc to the European market.

– We've organised around lectures and studying. During our exam period we have to prioritise preparing for our exams rather than working with Seacirc. We make up for that during holidays, though.