Posted: October 25, 2024
By: Allison Barss
In recent decades, emerging science has pinpointed the importance of understanding the ocean and its vital role in the environmental and economic health of the planet. In the face of urgent and acute threats to the ocean posed by climate change, there is need for more expertise and collaboration to meet those challenges—to protect this vital resource.
Announced Oct. 24, the Ocean Frontier Institute (OFI) has partnered with the Marine Institute (Memorial University, N.L.) and the Hakai Institute (B.C.) to launch a prestigious, multi-disciplinary and multi-location training program to enhance the ocean observation skills of 10 early-career scientists (pictured above) from around the world.
A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity
Funded and supported by The Nippon Foundation-POGO (Partnership for Observation of the Global Ocean) Centre of Excellence, the 10-month training program will enable the young scientists to become future leaders in their field, fostering collaboration and offering real-world, hands-on experience, while tapping into the world-class research infrastructure and unique geography of two of Canada’s ocean-observing powerhouses, including those of Dalhousie University.
Nippon has funded upwards of $240,000 for the program across three years to support the training. It will include experiences that extend outside the classroom through both social and learning opportunities with community members, policy makers, and industry partners at the cutting edge of ocean observation.
Representatives from the Nippon Foundation-POGO Centre of Excellence, members of the partner institutes and student scholars gathered for the announcement at an event in Holyrood, N.L. on Oct. 24.
Inspiring future-ready leaders
The Ocean Frontier Institute (OFI), led by Dalhousie University, is a first-of-its-kind transnational research hub, bringing together researchers, industry and government to study the most pressing ocean issues facing the planet. With a mission to be a global leader in innovative, interdisciplinary ocean research that leads to clear and lasting social, economic and environmental benefits, it recognizes that today’s challenges are too complex for any one institution, country, or research sector to solve alone.
"At Dalhousie, we are thrilled to bring our leadership in interdisciplinary ocean research and innovation to the Nippon Foundation-POGO Centre of Excellence,” said Dr. Kim Brooks, president and vice-chancellor of Dalhousie.
“This program offers scholars a unique opportunity to engage with world-class expertise across Canada, and we are excited to see how their work will shape the future of global ocean sustainability.”
The funding comes in the first year of Dalhousie’s historic Bringing Worlds Together fundraising campaign, intended to support the investment of new programs, supports and facilities across the university.
Through one of the campaign’s major pillars, ‘Inspiring future-ready leaders,’ Dal is committed to creating a new generation of outstanding ocean leaders. This includes providing students with customized training and experiential learning opportunities so they can develop solutions for complex ocean issues. The Ocean Frontier Institute will significantly amplify these efforts with campaign support, enabling more in-depth research to drive improvements in everything from meeting the global demand for sustainable seafood, to predicting and reducing extreme weather events.
