Ocean science in action: communicating cutting edge advances in marine research and technology via Massive Online Open Courses

MOOCs, or Massive Open Online Courses, are picking up momentum in popularity. Unlike regular courses, MOOCs can attract many thousands of enrollees around the world and engage audiences outside of the academia. As a particular type of digital education, MOOCs can be seen as a confluence of education (teaching/learning) elements and public engagement (outreach/publicity) elements. In this presentation we will introduce you to a forthcoming MOOC “Ocean Science in Action: Addressing marine ecosystems and food security in the Western Indian Ocean”, which will be available from October 2020. The MOOC aims to introduce the participants to innovative marine technologies and their applications used to tackle the challenges of the sustainable management of marine ecosystems.

Marine autonomous systems are becoming ever more reliable and easy to use for environmental observations – at a fraction of the cost of a research ship. Earth observation satellites monitor the oceans daily, collecting a wide range of marine data, most of which are freely available from global archives. Ocean models of increasingly high resolution make it possible to explore regional ecosystem dynamics and gain insights into reasons for variability and change. Engaging students globally into the cutting edge research requires novel approaches to engagement, communication and teaching. Using elements of MOOC created by SOLSTICE (Sustainable Oceans, Livelihoods and food Security Through Increased Capacity in Ecosystem research in the Western Indian Ocean) program, this presentation will explore how research projects can create inspiring digital content to communicate their findings and achieve long lasting legacy of their results.