Engagement with Early Career Ocean Professionals

ECOPS – Early Career Ocean Professionals self-identify as having 10 years or less professional experience in any ocean-related field. Professional experience can come from post-secondary education, volunteer positions, paid roles, and employment.
ECOPs are vital to the future of ocean-related work, bringing fresh ideas, energy, and diverse expertise to the field. However, ECOPs can face significant challenges navigating their career paths, such as limited access to professional development, funding, and networks.

Supporting the needs of ECOPs is crucial for nurturing the next generation of leaders who will drive forward ocean science, policy, and conservation efforts. EU4OceanObs is committed to empowering ECOPs and ensuring their involvement in different activities and events related to the project’s objectives to strengthen ocean observing, data sharing, modelling, forecasting, and development of downstream services and applications for society.

ECOPs advancing
the ocean observation value chain

ECOPs advancing the ocean observation value chain

ECOPs play a crucial role in the Earth and ocean observation value chain by improving diversity and inclusiveness, keeping the observation value chain relevant and accessible to future generations and fostering innovation. ECOPs also leverage new, interdisciplinary collaborative approaches and support the long-term sustainability of Earth observation projects.

Discover more about the importance of ECOPs in our “Early Career Ocean Professionals Earth Observation value chain” use case study.

Facilitating ECOP advancement
and networking

EU4OceanObs supports ECOPs from across the globe to participate in and become involved in key events and activities.

Ocean Bridges

Co-led by GEO Blue Planet’s EU office with funding from EU4OceanObs, the OceanBRIDGES )Bridging (Ocean) Research, Innovation and Diversity across Generations of Experts and Stakeholders) task team facilitates expertise-sharing ECOPs and Experienced (mid to late career) Ocean Professionals (EOPs). OceanBRIDGES is part of the UN Ocean Decade ECOPS program.

GEO Blue Planet

In partnership with the NOAA National Sea Grant Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship, the GEO Blue Planet U.S. Officer recruits a PhD student every year to help coordinate and provide scientific support for activities, as well as organise and speak at events.

Events

The All-Atlantic Ocean Research and Innovation Alliance (AAORIA) Forum

2024

The All-Atlantic Ocean
Research and Innovation
Alliance (AAORIA) Forum

The AAORIA forum brought together representatives from the Atlantic Community to discuss and highlight opportunities for collaborative ocean science, share knowledge, and inform advancements in fit-for-purpose science to achieve a healthy and sustainable Atlantic Ocean. Through the OceanBRIDGES initiative, EU4OceanObs supported three ECOPs to participate in the event.

DTO4ECOPS

2024

DTO4ECOPS

The UN Ocean Decade Digital Twins of the Ocean & Early Career Ocean Professionals (EDITO4ECOPS) event, co-led by GEO Blue Planet and EU4OceanObs together with EDITO-Iinfra and other initiatives, focused on bringing the perspective of ECOPs on ongoing ocean digital twinning efforts in Europe. 3 ECOPs from Europe, the Caribbean region and Africa took the stage and led the interactive discussion portion of the event.

The Galway Statement’s 10th Anniversary

2023

The Galway Statement’s
10th Anniversary

Commemorating 10 years of the Galway Statement, a roadmap for ocean research cooperation and knowledge sharing among Canada, the USA, and the European Union, EU4OceanObs supported four ECOPs from South Africa, Mexico, Portugal, and Brazil to generate inter-generational dialogues and facilitate knowledge-exchange.

2022

The UN Ocean Conference
Marine Litter Side Event

The Integrating Marine Litter Monitoring to Inform Action side Event focused on marine litter observation, remote sensing, and modelling as key pillars for supporting the establishment of realistic plastic litter reduction targets and developing policies to reach these targets. Through the OceanBRIDGES task team, a team of ECOPs helped shape and animate the full-day event, which welcomed 86 participants from 23 countries.

The 5th GEO Blue Planet Symposium

2022

The 5th GEO Blue Planet Symposium

In support of the UN Decade ECOP OceanBRIDGES task team initiative, the 5th GEO Blue Planet Symposium plenary sessions included at least one ECOP. The coastal hazards panel discussion was entirely made up of ECOP panellists.

Full event info: https://geoblueplanet.org/5th-symposium-2022/

Testimonials

Joy DeepMy tenure with the GEO Blue Planet Knauss Marine Policy Fellow] initiative has been an exhilarating ride, an opportunity to unleash the full potential of my diverse skills and interests… GEO Blue Planet has been an eye-opener, expanding my horizons and granting me the privilege of participating as a panelist and presenter at various international conferences including the NAP Expo in Santiago, Chile, the GEO Symposium, and Open Data Open Knowledge Symposium in Geneva along with the opportunity to visit many countries in Europe.

Joy Deep Chakrabartty, 2023 GEO Blue Planet-Knauss Marine Policy Fellow

Nikelene McLeanAs a native of the Caribbean islands of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, I was drawn to GEO Blue Planet’s mission of promoting the use of ocean and coastal observational data to support policy and decision making in regions of the world most susceptible to marine and coastal related issues such as large ocean states and developing countries. Additionally, as a geospatial biologist characterizing the spatiotemporal population dynamics of disruptive jellyfish species in the Chesapeake Bay, I was highly impressed not only by the far reaching applications of remote sensing in supporting the sustainable management of coastal and marine resources, but more so by the vast network of scientists, Earth Observation experts and decision makers from across the world who worked together to provide actionable outcomes based on stakeholder needs.

Nikelene Mclean, 2022 GEO Blue Planet-Knauss Marine Policy Fellow

Mafalda de FreitasGEO Blue Planet’s commitment to fostering collaboration, sharing knowledge, and translating it into actionable outcomes is inspiring. Together, we are creating an ecosystem of science, technology, and policy that supports not just our oceans, but the communities and industries that rely on them. It’s an honour to contribute to an initiative that truly believes in making a positive impact on our world.

Mafalda de Freitas, 2022 GEO Blue Planet-Knauss Marine Policy Fellow

Dr Hind AzidaneIn October 2024, I had the pleasure of attending the AAORIA Forum 2024 of the All-Atlantic Ocean Research and Innovation Alliance in Ottawa, Canada. As an Early Career Ocean Professional (ECOP) representative sponsored by GEO Blue Planet, I was honoured to be the sole participant from Morocco. This forum, organized by Fisheries and Oceans Canada, the European Commission, and the OKEANO CSA, provided an excellent platform to engage with other early-career professionals from the UK, South Africa, Ireland, and Canada in an intergenerational dialogue. We had the opportunity to develop a policy brief addressing one of the key marine challenges, focusing on ocean observation in the Atlantic.

Dr Hind Azidane, AAORIA Forum 2024 ECOPs participant

Nikia GoodingAs the only ECOP from my country and from the Caribbean region, I would like to graciously thank my sponsors. My participation was funded by the Horizon Europe Project, EU4OceanObs [through the OceanBRIDGES initiative]. This was my first interaction with the AAORIA community, despite its scope directly aligning with that of the IMA’s, and as a direct extension my professional experience as an ocean researcher. There were a number of meaningful connections during this experience that were only made possible by my physical attendance at the fora. … It was truly an impactful experience, interacting with the All-Atlantic community, and participating as an ECOP during the Intergenerational Dialogue Event. Looking forward to more!

Nikia Gooding, AAORIA Forum 2024 ECOPs participant

Blessing CharukaAttending the All-Atlantic Ocean Research and Innovation Alliance (AAORIA) Forum in Ottawa, Canada deepened my knowledge of addressing global ocean challenges, broadened my understanding of coastal resilience strategies, expanded my network, and enhanced my communication, presentation and moderation skills. These experiences have empowered me to be able to contribute to science-policy dialogues at international fora.
I am grateful to my sponsor, [the Horizon Europe Project EU4OceanObs through OceanBRIDGES] for funding my participation in this event.

Blessing Charuka, AAORIA Forum 2024 ECOPs participant
Ocean Bridges
GEO Blue Planet
United Nation Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development
EU4OceanObs
ECOPs