Calling all members of the global ocean community! The Ocean Decade’s new capacity-building platform, Ocean Connector, is now offering a diverse set of 15 open training opportunities designed to strengthen skills and advance knowledge in ocean science. Whether you are an early-career researcher, a marine practitioner, or a student eager to deepen your expertise, these opportunities provide a unique gateway to world-class training, collaboration, and hands-on learning aimed at supporting a sustainable and resilient ocean future.

Overview

The United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030) (Ocean Decade) will stimulate ocean science and knowledge generation to reverse the decline of the state of the ocean system and catalyse new opportunities for sustainable development. The vision of the Ocean Decade is ‘the science we need for the ocean we want’.

The Ocean Decade provides a convening framework for scientists and stakeholders from diverse sectors to develop the scientific knowledge and the partnerships needed to accelerate and harness advances in ocean science to achieve a better understanding of the ocean system, and deliver science-based solutions to achieve the 2030 Agenda.

The UN General Assembly mandated UNESCO's Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) to coordinate the preparations and implementation of the Decade.

1. Closing soon: Hifadhi Blu Grants Programme | Deadline: 29 November 2025 | https://ow.ly/vao650XygSL

2. Closing soon: 2026 International Indian Ocean Cruise | Deadline: 30 November 2025 | https://ow.ly/avOw50XygSN

3.  Closing soon: 16th International Coral Reef Symposium (ICRS 2026) – Call for Abstracts | Deadline: 1 December 2025 | https://ow.ly/Pbe450XygSB

4. Closing soon: 2026-2027 NF-POGO Centre of Excellence in Observational Oceanography | Deadline: 12 December 2025 | https://ow.ly/aak950XygSF

5. North Sea Award | Deadline: 31 December 2025 | https://ow.ly/7uMk50XygSA

6. Ocean Literacy self-paced training courses | Deadline: 31 December 2025 | https://ow.ly/2ua450XygSO

7. NF-POGO 2025 Open Call for Shipboard Fellowships | Deadline: 31 December 2025 | https://ow.ly/GU7I50XygSQ

8. Brilliant Marine Research Idea (BMRI) grants | Deadline: 19 January 2026 | https://ow.ly/yLPY50XygSG

9. New JPI Oceans Blue Carbon Call | Deadline: 2 March 2026 | https://ow.ly/Iq1250XygSH

10. World Conference on Marine Biodiversity 2026 – Call for Abstracts | Deadline: 17 March 2026 | https://ow.ly/F6gF50XygSE

11. How to use a Virtual Laboratory on Coastal Ocean Currents from Observations | Deadline: 31 July 2026 | https://ow.ly/6Leb50XygSK

12. How to use a Virtual Laboratory on Carbon Plankton Dynamics | Deadline: 31 July 2026 | https://ow.ly/qxHc50XygSC

13. Navigating the Global Fisheries Atlas Virtual Laboratory: Tools and Techniques | Deadline: 31 July 2026 | https://ow.ly/GrzY50XygSI

14. Internship at VLIZ - Flanders Marine Institute | Deadline: 31 December 2026 | https://ow.ly/FHp250XygSP

15. Training Workshop - unlock your ocean data through crowdsourced research with the Zooniverse free DIY Project Builder platform | Deadline: 31 December 2029 | https://ow.ly/Wwzt50XygSM