By Kate Lantagne

An academic selection process is never an easy endeavor. Even with a solid set of criteria on which to judge potential candidates, there is always an element of comparing and contrasting which leads to many a pensive moment. This spring the Partnership for Observation of the Global Oceans (POGO) along with members of the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences (BIOS) had a number of such moments, with the task of awarding ten candidates places on, this the inaugural year of, the Nippon Foundation-sponsored POGO Centre of Excellence (CofE) in Observational Oceanography Programme. The NF-POGO CofE at BIOS was established to promote oceanography on a global scale by offering an integrated multidisciplinary program to young scientist from developing countries.

This year, even with a short call for entries, BIOS received sixty-nine applications from around the world. Applicants came from institutes in twelve African countries, four South-Central American and Caribbean countries, eight Asia-Pacific countries, three Indian Ocean countries, four Middle Eastern countries, and two European countries. The applicants were - to use the cliché - "some of the best and brightest their countries had to offer", with close to three quarters either in the process of obtaining an advanced degree or already holding a MS or PhD. As well as having solid academic backgrounds, many had experience in research areas such as the impact of climate change; environmental monitoring; modeling; and investigations into ocean nutrients, phytoplankton and zooplankton diversity.

With the ten month program underway from in the first week of August, BIOS is currently hosting the students from Nigeria, Ghana, Tunisia, Angola, Venezuela, India, Portugal, the Philippines, Brazil and Pakistan - where they are all employed by either Universities or National Institutes. In addition to having a minimum MSc, each scholar in the group has POGO-related experience in aspects of physical oceanography, biochemical oceanography or marine biology. The German physicist Max Planck once said, "a scientist is happy, not in resting on his attainments but in the steady acquisition of fresh knowledge". This is what the Centre of Excellence will offer these ten participants: the opportunity to interact, investigate, experience and acquire knowledge beyond what is accessible to them at home. They will return empowered and equipped to assist their institutes, their countries and the world as we strive to understand the planet's oceans.