UNESCO adds IHCantabria to Its Network of Specialized Training Centers, the OceanTeacher Global Academy
This international recognition makes IHCantabria the only Spanish center to be part of this prestigious international network dedicated to strengthening scientific, technical, and management capabilities related to the oceans.
The Environmental Hydraulics Institute of the Universidad de Cantabria (IHCantabria) has been designated as a Specialized Training Center (STC) of the OceanTeacher Global Academy (OTGA), the leading capacity-building platform of UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC). This United Nations agency is responsible for coordinating scientific research and cooperation on the oceans worldwide.
This distinction reinforces IHCantabria’s role as a global leader in specialized training and knowledge transfer in marine sciences, contributing to the IOC’s goals of promoting science-based, sustainable management of marine ecosystems.
On February 3, 2026, the IOC Secretariat called on Member States to propose academic and research institutions with training capacity to serve as part of the OTGA’s regional or specialized training centers (RTC/STC) for a period of five years. In May 2026, IHCantabria submitted its application to establish a new specialized training center (STC) focused on marine and coastal risks, adaptation to climate change, nature-based solutions, integrated coastal zone management, and marine spatial planning, for which it received support from the Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO-CSIC) as the IOC’s focal point in Spain.
The inclusion of IHCantabria as a Specialized Training Center (STC), along with 16 other Specialized and Regional Training Centers (STC/RTC), was announced at the 59th session of the UNESCO-IOC Executive Council held in July, following which the OTGA Secretariat convened a welcome session on August 19 for the new OTGA centers, in which Jara Martínez, director of knowledge transfer at IHCantabria, participated as coordinator of the new Spanish Specialized Training Center (STC), which includes 35 researchers and consultants from IHCantabria as instructors. In the near future, the institute will participate in an onboarding process as well as follow-up, orientation, and planning sessions with the OTGA Secretariat to ensure compliance with IOC standards and procedures.
With IHCantabria joining the OTGA network of centers, it will actively contribute to the implementation of the IOC’s Capacity Development Strategyfor 2023–2030, as part of a community of institutions committed to training the next generation of ocean experts and professionals.
The OceanTeacher Global Academy (OTGA), based on decades of IOC-led training activities, is a pioneer in the creation of a coordinated, personalized, and standardized Learning Management System to enhance capabilities in ocean science, management, and policy-making services. This platform was created by the IOC Project Office for the International Oceanographic Data and Information Exchange (IODE), headquartered with the Government of Flanders, Belgium. OTGA has evolved through a series of successful projects since 2009. It has mobilized hundreds of experts and institutions, offering free, open training courses to more than 18,000 students worldwide.
