The goals of the Nippon Foundation (NF) - Partnership for Observations of the Global Ocean (POGO) Centre of Excellence (CofE) at the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences (BIOS) are to expand world-wide capacity to observe the oceans, to build human resources in developing countries, and to improve international networking in ocean sciences. The emphasis is on training young scientists from developing countries in particular. In the words of BIOS' Director of Education, Dr. Gerry Plumley, "The goal is to train the students. We are not trying to give academic credit, but to impart useful knowledge and skills that the students can take home with them and utilize in ocean observatories in their own regions."

In support of the POGO mission, the course will build working networks of educated scientists, creating an association of peers for years to come. The NF-POGO Centre of Excellence will help the students to form friendships through teamwork in the classroom and in the field, learning from each other's strengths and supporting where help is needed. Only an international oceanographic community with shared goals such as these has the resources and capabilities to understand and tackle the enormous challenges that face our oceans today. Dr. Maureen Conte (Associate Research Scientist and collaborating faculty in the NF-POGO Centre of Excellence) explains: "At BIOS we will be training the next generation of leaders that will help to build this global oceanographic community. The NF-POGO Scholars will be learning to work (and play) together with their peers from around the world. They will develop an understanding of different cultural operating styles and a keen appreciation of similarities and differences in the problems and challenges that faced by their respective countries."

The NF-POGO Scholars are being assessed in each module through written exams and papers, lab practicals, and most importantly hands-on experience. The combined Hydrostation 'S' and the Bermuda Atlantic Time-series (BATS) cruises provide students with a bi-weekly cruise schedule over the entire year: five-day core cruises are scheduled in the first week of each month and three-day bloom cruises are scheduled in the third week of each month, from January through April. We anticipate a minimum of three NF-POGO Scholars on each of the ten scheduled R/V Atlantic Explorer cruises during the Scholar program each year, an opportunity that we believe is unprecedented at other universities.

Each module for the 2008-2009 inaugural program is being taught by BIOS senior faculty and visiting faculty; Drs Tom Anderson, Juliet Hermes, Rob Condon, Craig Carlson, Bob Morris, Maureen Conte and John Farrington are working with the students, creating a broad student-teacher network.

René Ayala Campos is a Marine Biology postgraduate student from Venezuela, and was working as a research assistant in the CARIACO project (Carbon Retention in a Coloured Ocean) before joining the NF-POGO CofE programme at BIOS. He has also worked on research projects for the Venezuelan National Institute of Fisheries and Aquaculture, and believes that his POGO training will be invaluable for future work in his country, equipping him - in his own words - with "field experience, and the skills in handling the equipment needed to develop new and significant biological and oceanographic data."

Toye Akinnigbagbe joined the CofE programme at BIOS after receving a first degree in Geology from Federal University of technology, Akure, Nigeria and his Masters in Petroleum Geology/ Sedimentology from University of Ibadan, Nigeria. Toye has worked as a graduate researcher with Chevron-Texaco UI during his postgraduate study, and is currently a research first officer, with the Nigerian Institute for Oceanography and Marine Research. His research has investigated coastal erosion and ocean dynamics, monitoring sea level rise and geological sediments, as well as looking at the micro-fauna of the ocean water sediments.

Dr. Samina Kidwai from Pakistan has a PhD in Marine Biology from the University of Karachi in Pakistan, and the University of Aberdeen in Scotland. She is a research scientist at the National Institute of Oceanography, Pakistan. Her research interests include zooplankton ecology, bio-physical interaction in the coastal and deep water and Marine Biogeographical Information Systems (Marine BioGIS). She is a member of, the National Committee of Pakistan in SCOR (Scientific Committee Ocean Research), the national working group on coastal and marine biodiversity for the UN-CBD and also the Managing Editor of the Pakistan Journal of Oceanography, in addition to being part of three international collaborations of NIO, Pakistan. Her interest in the NF-POGO CofE Programme at BIOS is the program's focus on multidisciplinary and observational oceanography and the hands on sea-going experience that will prepare her for Pakistan's future national and international oceanographic initiatives and international collaborations.

Tiago Queiroz from Angola joins the POGO CofE programme at BIOS with some prior experience in numerical modeling and environmental engineering, having studied at the University of Cape Town in South Africa and the Universidad Lusófona in Portugal. His work has included using the Regional Oceanic Modelling System (ROMS) to investigate the origin, propagation and impacts of warm/cold events in the equatorial Atlantic. He has also been involved with climate variability projects such as the African Centre for Climate and Earth System Science (ACCESS). Tiago hopes that the training in Observational Oceanography that he will receive at the POGO-NF CofE at BIOS will equip him for studies in operational oceanography - a key field where Angola is lacking in scientists.

Joseph Palermo achieved an MS in Environmental Science at the University of the Philippines-Diliman, majoring in Environmental Biology and Quantitative Aquatic Ecology. Joseph has worked as a freelance environmental consultant for a number of institutions including The Marine Environment & Resources Foundation, contracting him for ecological advice on a number of projects in his region.

Sebastian Kreiger is working on his Master of Science in Physical Oceanography at the Oceanographic Institute of the University of São Paulo in Brazil, studying wave dynamics in the Atlantic Ocean using sea surface height anomalies. He also claims "great interest in general ocean circulation and its link to climate change". Sebastian hopes that his training in the NF-POGO programme at BIOS will give him a "better understanding of the processes observed in the oceans and their interactions, especially biophysical interactions", and is excited at the prospect of being involved in a new network of oceanography peers from across the globe.

Nimit DJ, from Jawarharlal Nehru Technological University (JNTU) in India whetted his enthusiasm for Bermuda when he first read 'The Deep' by Peter Benchley (the author of Jaws). His marine science studies later on revealed the other attractions of the island: for science, the ideal study location in the Atlantic. Nimit is currently working on his PhD in India, investigating plankton pigments and fish catch analysis along the Saurashtra coast in Gujarat, using Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and hopes that the training he will receive at the NF-POGO CofE will better equip him in this research. He is also very interested in climate change, and hopes to be a part of the global network of scientists with the capacity to tackle these issues; in his words, ocean sciences "sees no political boundaries and there is only one way to make it work, and that is co-operation".

Cátia Matias recently completed a Masters degree in Marine Biology at the Algarve University in Portugal. Her thesis focused on the seasonal and long-term variability of chlorophyll in the Algarve and the Gorringe Bank, studied using ocean colour remote sensing. The emphasis on global collaboration attracted Cátia to the NF-POGO CofE programme at BIOS; "it's important to apply the same methodologies all over the world so that the results can be shared without problems, enabling an accurate understanding of the ocean's functions."

Lailah Lartey-Antwi stud­ied Biological Oceanography at the University of Ghana and she has submitted her Master of Philosophy thesis on population dynamics of two Donax species (Ghanaian surf clams) for examination. Her thesis is the first study dealing with the population ecology of the intertidal Donacidae of Ghana spanning a period of one year. Her findings will contribute significantly to the actual knowledge about the response of benthic species to environmental change.

­Lailah's research interests include population dynamics, marine pollution, benthic life and intertidal research. The program will provide her the opportunity to interact with other colleagues and peers from around the world. She hopes that her studies for the NF-POGO CofE at BIOS will help her to "assist in the formulation and implementation of policies regarding the protection of the marine environment in Ghana". The NF-POGO Programme, will certainly improve her skills and increase her potential to make significant contributions not only to science but also to the general development of the Ghanaian marine environment.

Houssem Smati comes to the NF-POGO programme at BIOS from the Institut National des Sciences at Technologies do la Mer in Tunisia, where he has completed Masters degrees in Hydrodynamic and Coastal Environments Modelling and in Integrative Biology of Coastal Ecosytems. Houssem's research has investigated water circulation in the Gulf of Gabes using a number of methods, including time-series analysis. BIOS' well-known BATS (Bermuda Atlantic Time-Series) has particularly attracted Houssem to the NF-POGO programme, who is also eager to expand his "international oceanographic network".