IOI Training Programme on Ocean Governance for the Western Pacific Region
Registrations are NOW Open for the next IOI China Training Programme
"The Implementation of BBNJ Agreement and Sustainable Development"
16 - 25 September 2025, Tianjin, China
Deadline for Applications: 11 August 2025
Expenses and Financial Support
This training programme has no registration fee. The NMDIS will cover accommodation, meals and insurance fees for all participants during the training period. Limited financial support of round-trip airfare between China and countries of participants is available for those applicants who meet the following criteria:
- Research experience in related fields (oceanography, hydrography, etc.) with published papers;
- Good working knowledge of ocean governance;
- Good ideas on ocean governance or potential funding for future international field campaign cooperation;
- A gender balance will be considered for this financial support selection.
Application
Please fill out the Application Form and Recommendation Letter in English to be named "Country_Name" and send this form with your professional CV in English, entitled "Country_Name_CV" to ioiwestpactraining@163.com by 11 August, 2025. The application form should be sent as a WORD document.
What to Expect
The course is very intensive, with a lot of material to cover in a relatively short time. Classes are held from Monday to Friday, with a normal day running from 09:00 to around 17:00hrs (local time in Tianjin) with a lunch break of two hours. Attendance is required at all sessions. The participants should also be prepared for some evening and weekend work, as well as field trip(s). All participants are expected to use and share their new knowledge and skills on their return home. During the course, you will be asked to identify relevant ways you can do this, and some months after you have returned, you will be expected to provide written follow-up demonstrating what activities you have engaged in.
General Training Programme information:
Organised by the International Ocean Institute in partnership with the National Marine Data and Information Service (NMDIS), Ministry of Natural Resources, PR China
- An annual residential programme offered since 2011 in Tianjin, PR China
- Coverage of regional issues of the Western Pacific Regional Seas with special emphasis on ICM and marine environmental protection in connection with the on-going regional programme of PEMSEA
- The programme is structured into modules given through intensive lectures, discussion, simulation exercises, field trips
- Special sessions cover the presentation of case studies by invited experts; showcase good practice sharing (national reports) by the participants; team and individual presentations by participants built on the knowledge and holistic understanding of ocean governance gained during the training programme; field trips and study tours.
2024 Training Programme
The Training Programme on Ocean Governance: Legal Framework, Policies, Technologies and Practices was held from the 27 May – 7 June in Tianjin, China. The training provided an introduction to themes of ocean governance with special reference to the international legal framework of UNCLOS, and the policies, technologies, methodology and good practices of ocean governance for both coastal areas and marine areas beyond national jurisdiction.
11 participants from 7 countries (Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Egypt, Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand), from a diversity of practical and academic backgrounds, participated in this training course. The programme was offered in-person for two weeks, focusing on intensive class training through presentations and discussions, and fieldwork. Training combined theory with practice providing participants with a platform for learning from each other. Read more.
2023 Training Programme
The training course was launched on the 11th September under the aegis of high level guests - Ms Liu Xiaoyan, Counsellor from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ms Yu Xinwei, Deputy Director of the Department of the Ministry of the Natural Resources, and Dr Shi Suixiang, Director-General of the National Marine Data and Information Service, and Governor of the IOI Governing Board.
36 participants from 12 countries (Bangladesh, Cambodia, Cameroon, China, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Myanmar, Philippines, Sri Lanka and Thailand) participated in the training course, of whom 22 participants participated in the training course in-person in Tianjin, the rest online. The training course was conducted through intensive presentation classes and discussions in or after classes. Read more....
2022 Training Programme
The two-week training programme, focusing on issues of the Western Pacific Ocean, was held in hybrid format and attracted 26 participants from eight countries, including China. Participants from Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore and Thailand followed the course lectures online, joined by their Chinese colleagues attending in person in Tianjin, PR China. Read more....