Register now for the following IOI Ocean Academy courses organised by our partners in Egypt, Turkey, Black & Mediterranean Seas, South Africa, Maldives.
Participation is free of charge for interested applicants and the 20hr modules are offered ONLINE.
Visit the IOI Ocean Academy dedicated webpage for more information or to register your interest for other courses.
Contribution of Sustainable Development goals to Marine Environmental Conservation
13 November - 4 December 2022
Language: Arabic
Conservation and Sustainability of the Marine Environment in Turkish Seas
14 November - 23 December 2022
Language: Turkish
Sustainable Coastal Tourism Development and Ocean Governance
17 November - 8 December 2022
Language: English
Learn more about South Africa's Ocean and Opportunities in the Blue Economy
28 November - 2 December 2022
Language: English
Marine Environmental Security Issues for the Maldives
11 - 22 December 2022
Language: Dhivehi
Five More IOI Ocean Academy Programmes Successfully Delivered
SOUTH AFRICA (SA): Learn more about South Africa's Ocean and Opportunities in the Blue Economy, Online, 10 - 25 August 2022, in English
IOI SA teamed up with SAIMI (South African International Maritime Industry) to deliver 20 hours of free online learning on ocean issues. The Ocean Academy was marketed to South African interns who work in the ocean space but don’t necessarily have a marine science or ocean governance background. Through the magic of social media, and virtual training spaces, we also welcomed participants from all over Africa, in particular Kenya and Somalia. Participation varied but for those who committed and engaged fully with the presenters and each other, this was an opportunity to engage with new topics and diverse themes.
The Ocean Academy explored what the ocean means for life on earth, and to each of us; marine and coastal biodiversity, ecosystem goods & services; challenges facing our oceans and coasts; climate change: what it means for our oceans and coasts and the blue economy. We used Padlet and mentimeter.com to encourage creativity and participation. Participants were encouraged to commit to taking their knowledge forward and making small changes in their lives for the benefit of the environment and society.
From the participants:
“The course is really educative and well-designed for open learners, and it triggers a critical thinking mode of learning about our Ocean and how it effects our life in several aspects. I enjoyed synthesizing the shared knowledge with the speakers and the participants and I will organize a STEM team in my school to promote Ocean education among youth and the general public. Thank you, IOI South Africa team, for this wonderful journey of learning with you! I hope to join you again in another training programme.” Abulibda
NIGERIA: Ocean Knowledge for Sustainable Use, Exploitation and Conservation of Resources, Online, 6 – 15 September 2022 in English
The training program was initially planned for participants from the West Africa Region, but since participants from other countries and regions also joined, presentations were adjusted to include also global perspectives. 332 registrations were received for this course of whom 220 males and 112 females whose background ranged from staff at various levels in Government Institutions, the private sector, university undergraduates and graduates, secondary school leavers, local NGOs and other enthusiasts from Nigeria, Bangladesh, Ghana, India, Somalia, Egypt, Pakistan, Tanzania, South Africa, Greece, Sri Lanka, Iran, Gambia, Indonesia, the United States of America, and Germany. Resource persons included academics from various institutions, the maritime industry, as well as experts on various fields discussed during this course as well as IOI Alumni. 152 certificates were issued to participants successfully completing the course with an attendance of 80% or more.
COSTA RICA: Coastal Risk Literacy for Stakeholders, Online, 5 - 16 September 2022, in the Spanish language
The first Ocean Academy course offered by IOI Costa Rica was successfully delivered in September and focused on coastal hazards, such as coastal erosion, rip currents, tsunamis and other potential risks for local coastal communities and governments in Costa Rica and the region. The course consisted of 11 hours of synchronous sessions and 9 hours of asynchronous sessions with a total of 23 participants successfully completing the programme, and receiving a participation certificate. Local stakeholders from coastal communities, including the coastal management and planning, research, tourism, National Parks, Red Cross and first responders of local communities were involved in the course. The course was opened by the Vice-chancellor of Extension of the Universidad Nacional (UNA, Costa Rica, host institute of IOI Costa Rica) and Mauro Vargas, Director of IOI Costa Rica, explaining the importance of addressing coastal hazards and bringing academic knowledge to coastal communities to empower them in decision making. Lecturers included distinguished professors from UNA and a guest lecturer from the University of Windsor in Canada (with translation into Spanish), an expert on coastal erosion, rip currents and tsunamis. Examples of coastal erosion, were shown, for the Costa Rican Caribbean which are currently affecting infrastructure of local communities and the tourism sector along the coastal line of Gandoca Mazanillo, Puerto Viejo, Limón and Cahuita National Park and causes were detailed and explained while potential solutions to mitigate the impacts were explored and discussed. Participants offered their collaboration to future activities and acknowledged the quality of the course delivered.
From the participants:
“I am writing you to thank you for accepting me in the course and (to) acknowledge the quality of the course, it shows planification and professionalism. I have some knowledge on the topic, and it would be my pleasure to support future activities on coastal hazards.” Mauricio Castro, private advisor for environmental issues and sustainable development
PAKISTAN: A few words from Javed Afzal, Director Ocean Academy, Pakistan after the completion of the 2nd and 3rd Ocean Academy courses in August and September 2022 (below)
"It is a matter of immense pleasure and satisfaction that we have completed two courses in a short span of time of just over three months from first announcement. Today while I am writing this report for IOI Informa, it is a continuation of the initial thoughts that I expressed in my previous report at the time of launch of first course. I am also humbled to state that keeping up with our tradition (being developed), we managed to announce third online course one day prior to conclusion of second course. It is assumed that successful conduct of third course on the lines of the previous two courses will further boost IOI Ocean Academy Pakistan and raise its image besides attracting many hundreds towards IOI and its message. I am glad to announce that second also turned out to be an international course like the first one, as we had participants from Somalia and Kenya.
While the courses for the current year are in progress, we have already embarked on planning the courses for 2023. Hopefully, alumni of this course and follow-on courses will lay the foundation of long-term ocean awareness campaign in Pakistan and globally. I render my sincere gratitude to all those who helped me to make this event possible."
PAKISTAN: Need for Understanding Linkage between Oceans and Climate for Sustenance of Life, Livelihood and Food Security with Special Reference to Pakistan, Online, 15 - 26 August 2022, in English and Urdu
93 applications were received for this course with 32 selected to participate with a gender balanced audience. The programme was delivered online by 10 guest lecturers with expertise in the topics. 27 participants successfully completed the course with over 80% participation.
From the participants:
“It was a great experience to become a part of the awareness initiative done by IOI. I would definitely recommend others to know and save the oceans by joining IOI’s sessions. May this mission flourish and one day each and every person becomes part of this chain for the noble cause of “Ocean Sustainability” Haadia Zaman
PAKISTAN: Conservation and Governance of Oceans to Sustain Life, Livelihood and Climate with reference to Pakistan, Online, 15 - 28 September 2022, in English and Urdu language
299 applications were received for this course, from whom 45 were selected to participate with 37 persons successfully completing the course with over 80% attendance. The programme was delivered with the input of 9 guest lecturer with topic expertise.
From the participants:
"This course has exceeded all my expectations especially with respect to the depth of information and multidimensional nature of knowledge shared. I thoroughly enjoyed the course. It was well presented, easy to follow and engaging. The course content was easy to grasp. I have taken many online courses but none was that much engaging and interactive. All speakers were veterans of their field and had full command on the subject. I would strongly recommend this course to anyone interested in marine sciences, maritime affairs, conservation of environment & ocean and most importantly Blue Economy. Kudos to the Ocean Academy for undertaking this as a noble national cause and for creating much needed awareness in the country." Dr Abida Razzaq, Senior Vice President, Zarai Taraqiati Bank Ltd