The BlueTech Competition is a technological challenge designed to encourage STEAM in schools and inspire children and young people for the blue economy. The Competition provides a next step of complexity for blue schools and aims at empowering the students to actively contribute for the sustainable use of the ocean, seas and freshwater systems, playing a key role in the conservation of the Planet. Students will be challenged to create a prototype, instrumented model, or biotechnological product that facilitates the monitoring of the EU waters and their ecosystems or that promotes the sustainable use of its resources. Examples of topics to work on are marine robotics, renewable energy, solar vessels, aquaculture, and valorization of aquatic food products. The students should work in groups and communicate their results to the community, thus acquiring important transferable skills. The competition will reward the best practical applications created, based on the scores given by the jury.

EMSEA Annual conference will take place in Ostend, Belgium, 17-19 September 2025. The call for abstract is open for the following topics: 1. Ocean literacy and the blue economy 2. Ocean literacy in the North Sea and the Baltic Sea 3. Ocean literacy and education 4. Future of ocean literacy 5. Ocean literacy and advocacy 7. Open session

As the world increasingly turns to the ocean for sustainable solutions, innovation plays a critical role in shaping the future of the blue economy. The #EU4Ocean Webinar Series, dedicated to bridging the gap between ocean literacy and EU business, is back with its sixth episode, focusing on Blue Innovation. This session will highlight how entrepreneurship, investment, and cutting-edge technologies are transforming the way we interact with marine resources. By bringing together experts in blue economy development, this webinar will explore the latest trends, challenges, and opportunities for businesses and policymakers working towards a sustainable ocean economy.

The webinar will explore future scenarios for the region’s blue economy, focusing on innovation, governance, and transformative pathways co-designed with stakeholders through Living Labs. It assesses the environmental impacts of these scenarios using risk-based tools, guiding sustainable development across the Black Sea basin and its regions. Objective: This webinar will present the multiscale scenarios and tools developed by BRIDGE-BS to explore the potential of the Blue Economy in the Black Sea. Focus Areas: – Purpose of the scenarios – Key findings – Who can use them, how, and next steps Format: Online | 2 hours

The University of Vic - Central University of Catalonia invites applications for the Mediterranean Ecosystems: Biodiversity, Threats, and Conservation Actions summer program. This English-language program, held in Barcelona, Spain, is designed for students and professionals interested in Mediterranean biodiversity and conservation. Participants will gain a blend of theoretical knowledge and hands-on experience in marine environments, exploring the Mediterranean's rich ecology while enhancing their scientific understanding and sustainability skills. The objectives of the Mediterranean Ecosystems: Biodiversity, Threats and Conservation Actions summer programme is to understand the evolution and the current state of the Mediterranean Ecosystems, increasing the scientific knowledge of students while acquiring strategies to contribute and protect the sensitive ecosystems. It also aims to discover the Mediterranean ecosystems throughout practice and theory needed to complement the workshops and field visits. The programme is addressed to undergraduate students from the fields of Biology and Natural Sciences, even though other related backgrounds might be considered.

The EU4Ocean Summer School on Ocean Literacy and Collaboration is a five-day event (from 29 June to 4 July) in the city of Venice (Italy) dedicated to thinking about how to better collaborate on ocean-related projects to advance a sustainable economy. The in-presence programme will host different international guests and speakers to address the following topics at local and regional level: empathy for collaboration, storytelling and communication, impact measurement, project management, ocean policy and governance, stakeholder and community engagement, and nature-based solutions. The Summer School will have an online self-paced module prior to the in-presence activities. All the activities will be held in English. The EU4Ocean Summer School will gather 20 youths from EU and non-EU countries of the Mediterranean Sea and Black Sea region who are students enrolled/graduated in a Master Degree/PhD programme, or already early career professionals. No matter your background, the programme welcomes people coming from all the sectors but with a shared passion for the ocean. The deadline for applications is 16 March. The organisers provide accommodation, lunches and dinners, and five travel grants. The training is organised by the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO (UNESCO-IOC) in partnership with the European Commission-DG MARE as part of the European Ocean Coalition (EU4Ocean).

From 17-20 November 2026, the Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ) is organizing the 7th edition of the World Conference on Marine Biodiversity (WCMB 2026) in the city of Bruges, Belgium. The conference has been endorsed as a UN Ocean Decade Event. The overall theme of the conference is “The marine biodiversity insights we need, for the ocean we want”. The call for session proposals for the WCMB 2026 is already open. The deadline for submission of the proposals is 31 March 2025. Applicants will receive feedback on their proposals until 15 May 2025. Each session proposal needs to be linked to one of the conference sub-themes: 1. Challenges to achieve the UN Ocean Decade goals 2. Marine biodiversity: it’s all about the base(line)s and trends 3. Building e-oceans to help us fill our knowledge gaps 4. Marine biodiversity enthusiasts and stewards for the future: who are they, where do they come from, what are their needs and what drives them? 5. Challenges, changes and opportunities in marine taxonomic research: from specimens to genes 6. Science that makes a difference: supporting knowledge-based policies 7. Taking the pulse of the ocean: measuring our current marine biodiversity knowledge through monitoring networks and programs 8. Other A session may be constructed around a network, project, initiative or a specific, clearly defined scientific topic or question of broad interest within the field of marine biodiversity and in connection with the chosen sub-theme. Sessions can be constructed as presentations only, or a combination of presentations and discussions.

The summer school is focused on Ocean and Climate: Building Capacity and Developing Skills for a Sustainable Blue Economy. It covers multidisciplinary fields related to the marine and maritime sectors, providing both theoretical insights, practical applications and technological trends. The summerschool is targeted at participants from the Euro-Mediterranean Region, who fulfil the following requirements: • Enrolled in a master’s degree program or holding a master’s degree, a current PhD candidate or holding a PhD • With knowledge of English (level B2 or higher) • A demonstrated interest in the mediterranean region and the theme of sustainable blue economy Tuition fees, travel and accommodation costs will be fully covered for the 30 selected participants. Application deadline: 28 February 11.59 PM (CET)

Bergen Summer Research School is a collaboration between Norwegian School of Economics (NHH), Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, Chr. Michelsen Institute, and NORCE Norwegian Research Centre, under the leadership of the University of Bergen. Every summer, this invitation opens for 100 PhD students from around the world to spend ten days with some of Bergen’s top researchers. This summer school offers 5-7 parallel courses and joint sessions tackling some of the global challenges facing the world today.

The Open Sea Lab Hackathon 4.0 invites participants to develop impactful solutions using the wealth of EMODnet services spanning pan-European data/data products of the marine environment and human activities at sea. The winners of the hackathon will be showcased at the European Maritime Day 2025 in Cork, Ireland where they will have the opportunity to exhibit, pitch, and network in front of a global marine audience.