Applications for this year’s 5-week Regional Ocean Governance course organised annually are now open. Interested candidates can apply through this link.
The IOI (International Ocean Institute) Malta Training Course is offered jointly by the Ocean Malta research Group (OMRG) of the Department of Geosciences within the Faculty of Science of the University of Malta and the IOI Malta Training Centre directed by resident academic Prof. Alan Deidun. Since its inception in 2004, the same Course has trained around 400 mid-career participants hailing from almost 40 countries bordering 4 different regional seas (Mediterranean, Black, Black and Caspian Seas) as well as from a number of observer countries, including China. The training programme builds upon the 40 years' experience of the International Ocean Institute in conducting training and capacity building programmes on ocean governance (the first such course was held in 1983 by IOI Canada based in Halifax).
Despite being one of seven similar training programmes offered globally by the IOI, it is to date the only one accredited, through an active collaboration with the University of Malta, representing a total of 15 ECTS through three different Study-Units offered by the Department of Geosciences within the Faculty of Science (GSC 5101, GSC 5102 and GSC 5103). Through its global network of training centres, the IOI, which recently celebrated its 50th anniversary, has managed to train over 2,000 alumni on thematics which include ocean governance, maritime spatial planning and ocean literacy. The IOI also operates a global Ocean Academy, which delivers tailored ocean knowledge through 20-hour online modules delivered in different native languages within different countries by an academy of IOI-collaborating experts.
The Course programme, which will run from 5 November till 5 December 2025, is a highly intensive one, covering contemporary approaches to coastal and ocean management, with an emphasis on moral, ethical and legal values in Ocean Governance (equity and peaceful uses of the ocean) under the governance architecture of UNCLOS and related international instruments and agreements. The full-time Course is open to both local and foreign participants and takes places during mornings and afternoons within the Msida campus of the University of Malta. Highlights of the same Course include its harbours field trip, guided visits to the Freeport, Aquabiotech Limited, Malta National Aquarium, Esplora and IMLI as well as the flagship course seminar held at Dar l-Ewropa in Valletta and the final policy simulation exercise.
Further background about the Course in caption can be gleaned through: https://www.ioinst.org/
The deadline for submitting your Course application is Friday 30 May 2025. Late applications will not be accepted.
