OceanTeacher Global Academy: OceanTeacher goes global
Delgado Claudia', A d itya Kakodkar1 and Peter Pissierssens2
1 IOC Project Office fo r IODE, Wandelaarkaai 7 /6 1 , 8400 Oostende, Belgium
E-mail: claudia.delqado@ iode.org
2 UNESCO/IOC Project Office fo r IODE, W andelaarkaai 7 /6 1 , 8400 Oostende, Belgium
E-mail: p.pissierssens@unesco.org
The OceanTeacher Global Academy Project w ill develop a global tra in in g centre netw ork and
u tilize th is netw ork to increase national capacity in coastal and marine knowledge and
management. It w ill do so by (i) pro m o ting the establishm ent o f Regional T raining Centres as well
as th e ir close collaboration th ro ug h advanced inform a tion technology; and (ii) fu rth e r developing
the OceanTeacher Learning System. The OceanTeacher Global Academy w ill change tra in in g from
a ‘ north to s o u th ’ culture to north-south, south-south, and south-north model. Whereas tra in in g was
tra d itio n a lly based on experts fro m developed regions to visit and teach developing country
students, the OceanTeacher Global Academ y w ill prom ote the expertise available in many
developing regions.
Specifically, the OceanTeacher Global Academ y w ill:
i. Promote the establishm ent, and assist w ith the start-up, o f Regional T raining Centres th a t w ill
plan, organize and im plem ent tra in in g courses th a t are o f relevance and serve needs w ithin
th e ir region;
ii. Promote the use o f local experts as lecturers and tra in in g assistants by the Regional T raining
Centres;
iii. Promote the collaboration between the Regional T raining Centres by enabling (through
advanced inform a tion technology) lecturers fro m m ultiple regions to co ntribu te lectures;
iv. Further develop the OceanTeacher Learning Management System to cover m u ltip le IOC (and
associate) program m es.
The new OceanTeacher Global Academ y w ill build upon and expand the e xisting OceanTeacher
Academ y based at the IOC Project Office fo r IODE in Oostende, Belgium, to a tru ly w orldw ide
tra in in g fa cility. It w ill provide a program m e o f tra in in g courses related to IOC program m es,
c o n trib u tin g to the sustainable managem ent o f oceans and coastal areas w orldw ide, and relevant to
Member States in the regions. A suitable governance structure w ill be created. A ll the
aforem entioned w ill lead to the fo llo w in g b en e fits:
Increase the annual num ber o f trainees th a t can participate in OceanTeacher Academ y courses.
1. Increase the a va ila b ility/in vo lve m e n t and the level o f expertise o f trainers.
2. Alleviate the costs and o the r drawbacks o f long-distance traveling by tra in e rs /le c tu re rs and
trainees.
B. Increase the focus on local issues while keeping a global perspective.
4. Increase self-driven capacity developm ent, including local tra in in g expertise.
The OceanTeacher Global Academ y w ill fu rth e r prom ote collaboration and expertise exchange
th ro ug h new internet-based technologies such as video conferencing, video stream ing etc. between
the Regional T raining Centres (RTCs).
Key Deliverables
1. Regional T raining Centres established, operational and resourced locally (including
infrastructure, processes and managem ent) in, in te r alia, Europe, A frica (IOC-Africa), Latin
Am erica & Caribbean (IOCARIBE), Indian Ocean (IOCINDIO) and Western Pacific (IOC-WESTPAC);
2. C om petent resource persons available in all regions;
B. Well docum ented project governance structure established;
4. Courses organized and content provided th ro ug h the OceanTeacher Learning Management
System (OT LMS) and students trained in topics related to, in te r alia, IODE, IODE/OBIS,
IODE/ICAN, HAB, ICAM, GOOS, Tsunam i, JCOMM, attended by students from one or more regions
sim ultaneously;
5. Annual reports from Regional T raining Centres on progress, including perform ance metrics;
6. Final Im pact assessment o f the Project.
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Beneficiaries
■ The Project w ill ta rg e t the fo llo w in g train ee s/g ro up s:
■ Staff o f marine research in stitu tio n s and related facilities,
■ Staff o f G overnm ent departm ents involved w ith marine science and services,
■ Marine related practitioners (Governm ent and Private Sector),
■ U niversity students (marine science and related disciplines).
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