Nippon Foundation/GEBCO Training Program

Welcome to the GEBCO/Nippon Foundation students — class of 2014/2015

The GEBCO community is pleased to welcome the students just beginning the 2014/2015 class of the GEBCO/Nippon Foundation Training Programme

This 12-month course aims to train a new generation of scientists and hydrographers in ocean bathymetry and leads to a Postgraduate Certificate in Ocean Bathymetry (PCOB).

The course is now in its 11th year and is held at the University of New Hampshire (UNH), USA. Funding for the programme is provided by the Nippon Foundation of Japan.

Every year, GEBCO and the Nippon Foundation jointly select six of the many applicants. Selection criteria include the candidate's previous education, whether they have the support/endorsement of their home organisation and the likelihood of them working in ocean mapping after completing the course.

Since it began a total of 66 scholars have taken part in the course, representing 32 coastal states — helping to create and strength GEBCO's links in all regions of the world.

This year’s students from left to right in the above image

• Hirokazu Kurita — hydrographer in the Hydrographic and Oceanographic Department of the Japan Coast Guard (JHOD).
• Maxlimer Valleé — professional researcher at the Venezuelan Foundation for Seismological Research (FUNVISIS).
• Lt (jg) Jaya Roperez — commissioned service of the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority (NAMRIA) in the Philippines.
• Amon Kimeli — Marine Geologist with Kenya Marine & Fisheries Research Institute (KMFRI).
• Nilupa Samarakoon — hydrographic surveyor with the National Hydrographic Office (NARA) of Sri Lanka.
• Indra Prasetyawan — a lecturer and faculty member of Study Program of Oceanography in the Department of Marine Science, Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Sciences of Diponegoro University, Semarang, Indonesia.