OceanTeacher Global Academy

Since 1993 the IOC has conducted training courses on harmful microalgae. The purpose has been to improve the taxonomic and identification skills of the participants for research purposes and for practical monitoring of harmful algal blooms.

From 2006 the IOC training in HAB identification has been offered within a new framework which gives accreditation. The present course includes now a practical exam at the end of the course with an IOC Certificate of Proficiency in Identification of Harmful Algae issued to participants who pass the exam. We know by experience that many of the more than 500 trainees we have had over the years have wished the courses to give accreditation, and in some countries, the IOC courses have become a reference for laboratories to be approved for carrying out regulatory monitoring for harmful microalgae.

The IOC Science and Communication Centre on Harmful Algae, University of Copenhagen, Denmark is organizing the course. 

We all depend on the ocean, yet Ocean Literacy needs to be further enhanced worldwide. Ocean Literacy (OL) is ‘the understanding of human influence on the ocean and the ocean’s influence on people’. It is not only about increasing awareness on the state of the ocean, but it is also about providing tools and approaches to transform ocean knowledge into actions that promote ocean sustainability.

O curso pretende aumentar a capacidade dos professores para tomar decisões, bem como comunicar e ensinar, sobre o oceano. Além disso, pretende potenciar o papel dos professores e educadores como multiplicadores desta capacidade, aumentando a capacidade dos seus alunos e comunidades escolares de transformar o conhecimento em efetivas mudanças de atitude. O curso abordará a Literacia do Oceano sob a abordagem multiperspetiva consagrada pela UNESCO e insere-se nos Objetivos de Desenvolvimento Sustentável 4 (Educação de Qualidade), 6 (Água potável e Saneamento), 12 (Produção e Consumo Sustentáveis), 13 (Ação Climática) e 14 (Proteger a Vida Marinha) da Agenda 2030. O curso fornecerá conhecimentos e ferramentas para a sala de aula que fomentam o pensamento crítico e compreensão sobre o oceano, aumentam a consciência sobre a nossa relação diária com o oceano e os nossos comportamentos que impactam a sustentabilidade do oceano. Pretende-se que as aprendizagens dos formandos sejam transferidas e adaptadas a contextos educativos formais.

El curso implica obtener conocimientos teóricos/prácticos para hacer trabajo de campo y muestreo en estuarios, humedales costeros y playas desde un punto de vista de la oceanografía física y geológica con relación a temas tanto biológicos como químicos. En cada caso se introducirán los equipos necesarios para cada ambientes con detalles de cómo se operan, calibran y se accede a los datos. Como se diseñan y desarrollan los trabajos de campo y el análisis de los riesgos que ellos implican. Se explicarán las técnicas de trabajo en laboratorio para el análisis de muestras. Finalmente se impartirán rudimentos de manejo de bases de datos y de métodos básicos de análisis de los datos.

This training course is self-guided and designed to teach learners how to structure datasets to contribute to OBIS. The course will guide users step-by-step through the OBIS data life cycle, including: identifying an appropriate data structure, applying Darwin Core Archive formatting, conducting quality control steps, publishing data, and accessing data from OBIS.

To enrol, please register on the OceanExpert website (www.oceanexpert.org). Once your OceanExpert account is Approved, you can self-enrol in the course. If you already have an OceanExpert account, you can self-enrol in the course using your OceanExpert user name and password.

The enrolment key is OBIS*MASTERCLASS

The course is available until 16 February 2024. Enrolment is available until 1 February 2024

Any specific questions about this course please contact: the OBIS secretariat (helpdesk@obis.org) always using the name of the course as email subject.

The course serves as an introduction to R programming language and software environment (RStudio) for data exploration, cleaning, organizing, analysis and visualization. Relevant oceanographic (physical, chemical and biological) datasets will be used in the training, making it easy to relate, understand and apply the course concept. The course is designed for Early Career Ocean Professionals, hence, no prior experience is required. 

Through the online AlgaeTraits portal, editors have access to the Aphia platform (the database behind WoRMS) to add new traits and related non-taxonomic information, and to make changes to already existing records. With this course, the AlgaeTraits editors will become more at ease with the online AlgaeTraits editing interface and will learn how to use the available functionalities and tools to standardize their actions and improve the AlgaeTraits and WoRMS databases.

El curso busca sentar las bases respecto a los conceptos y prácticas relacionadas con carbono azul (mitigación – captura de CO2) y adaptación en ecosistemas marinos y costeros, en el marco de la convención de cambio climático, el plan estratégico Ramsar 2016 – 2024 y los objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible 13 y 14. Busca también una retroalimentación e intercambio de experiencias por parte de todos los participantes de acuerdo a sus conocimientos y lecciones aprendidas en temas de conservación y manejo de ecosistemas marinos y costero o planificación de usos en el territorio.

The training course provides an introduction to (genetic) data management and publication through the Global Genome Biodiversity Network (GGBN), as well as an introduction to the GGBN and the use of its data portal, the data standards and several case studies from Latin American institutions that have published data from different types of collections through the GGBN. The course purpose is to give the necessary foundations to professionals from Latin America to use the GGBN data infrastructure for publishing and giving visibility to the information they preserve.

Fishing vessel traffic data derived from Automatic Identification System (AIS) has become an essential component for building fisheries intelligence.  Enforce and related fisheries management strategies rely on such information to curb illegal fishing, plan and implement policies for the sustainability of marine living resources. 

Fisheries managers and enforcers require specialized skills to processes the large volume of positional, navigational and voyage related information embedded in AIS data.  Open-source programming software such as Python has lots of third-party modules for building packages and functions.  This makes Python an asset for the creation of customized data processing, analyses and visualization to support in making informed decisions in the management of natural resources.   

This training course will provide participants an understanding of the movement of fishing vessels and skills in processing AIS data.

Las observaciones de hielo marino y témpanos son una fuente de información sobre lugares remotos como las regiones polares y son de gran utilidad para la cartografía de hielo y la validación de estudios climáticos.

Este curso está diseñado para certificar la capacidad de los observadores en aguas polares desde el proceso de formación del hielo marino hasta la realización de observaciones desde buques o estaciones utilizando el Sistema de Información Glaciología (SIGLAC).  Además, se darán los conocimientos para la interpretación de cartas de hielo y otras herramientas para usos operativos.