Education at sea - Education for the sea

Workshop

Introduction

A few years ago, the Committee of Oceanography of the Royal Academies for Sciences and the Arts of Belgium organized a successful meeting, which reviewed the offer of master programmes in ocean sciences at the national level.

Since then, the scenery in ocean science education underwent deep modifications, worldwide.

In Belgium, some master programmes merged, while new programmes came into being. At the European and global level, various educational initiatives have been developed in the framework of European Networks of Excellence or Integrated Programmes (MARBEF, HERMES, HERMIONE, etc) and within large international programmes, such as for instance the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program IODP (represented in Europe by ECORD/ESSAC). Successful initiatives within international organizations with an educational vocation, such as IOC-UNESCO (e.g. TTR-Training Through Research), could keep momentum, notwithstanding financial constraints.

But beyond the academic dimension, there is the whole professional world - from fisheries and aquaculture to the offshore industry - that urges for the delivery of young manpower, with an adequate scientific and technical profile. Are we providing the right young scientists and engineers, with the right profile, both for Science and Industry? If not (... yet fully), how can we take action? How can we further promote "education at sea" and "education for the sea", across borders in Europe and in the world? These are key questions.

The Committee of Oceanology of RASAB, in cooperation with the Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ), organizes on February 16th and 17th (am) a workshop "Ocean School 010" which will address these questions.

Messages from the "Ocean School 010" workshop will be conveyed to the IOC-UNESCO International conference "50 Years of Education and Awareness Raising for Shaping the Future of the Oceans and Coasts" (April 27-30, 2010, St. Petersburg) and to the EurOcean 2010 Conference (Ostend). The messages from the stakeholders and Industry will be conveyed to the master programme co-ordinators, for further attention.