A best practice is a methodology that has repeatedly produced superior results relative to other methodologies with the same objective; to be fully elevated to a best practice, a promising method should be adopted and employed by multiple organizations.

This course will provide an overview of the importance and relevance of using and sharing Ocean Best Practices and Standards, and will provide training on how to create, submit, share and search for Best Practices in the Ocean Best Practices System (OBPS) repository.

The aim of this course is to raise the awareness towards the use of ocean best practices and provide guidance for creating, submitting and searching for best practices in OBPS.

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course the participants should:

• Understand and explain what best practices are
• Learn how to create a best practice
• Know how to submit a best practice in the OBPS repository
• Know how to search for a specific BP in the OBPS repository

Course content

The course is divided into the following 4 modules:

Module 1: Module 1: What is a Best Practice

Target audience

This course is open to everyone interested in best practices in ocean science, such as ocean practicioners, university students, and researchers.

Language of instruction

English

Certificate

This is a self-taught course that includes quizzes designed to help learners assess their own learning at regular intervals. In order to successfully complete the course and award a Certificate at the end, the following is mandatory:

• complete all lessons in each Module of the course; and
• complete all quizzes (70% minimum score for each quiz, maximum 3 attempts for each quiz, 30 minutes time limit for each attempt).

Feedback survey 

At the end of the course, you will be asked to fill out a feedback survey. This information will be used to improve future courses. Note: submitting the course feedback survey is mandatory to obtain the course certificate.

Course duration

The course will be available online between 21 January and 15 December 2025. The estimated time to complete the self-paced course is approximately 16 hours.

Prerequisites

No previous knowledge or experience in ocean best practices is required.

How to enrol

Please register on the OceanExpert website (www.oceanexpert.org). Once your OceanExpert account is approved (this is not done immediately), you can self-enrol in the course. If you already have an OceanExpert account, you can self-enrol in the course using your OceanExpert username and password. Enrolment is available until 15 December 2025.

• Step 1. Log in OceanTeacher e-Learning platform, then access the course page.
• Step 2. Click on self-enrolment. The enrolment key for the course is: OBPS2025sp

UNESCO is committed to promoting equal access principles. Applications from minority or underrepresented groups are strongly encouraged.

Contacts

For any questions please contact the OTGA Secretariat (ioc.training@unesco.org) always using the name of the course as the email subject.

There are no tuition fees.

Feedback survey

At the end of the course, you will be asked to fill out a feedback survey. This information will be used to improve future courses.

Cancellation policy

In the event of cancellation of the course by the OTGA or its affiliates, we will provide notification of cancellation at least 7 days prior to the course date. In the event of cancellation by the attendee, we should receive notification of cancellation at least 7 days prior to the course date.