BRIDGES schools
BRIDGES Schools are interdisciplinary training programs that bring together researchers, students, and practitioners to address major issues related to the study and management of the commons. These schools promote a socio-ecosystemic approach and address scientific methods, concepts, and impacts. In an interactive and international setting, they combine lectures, practical workshops, and field trips to promote learning, science-society dialogue, and the creation of new collaborative networks.
Objectives
The schools aim to:
- Acclimate participants to scientific methods for studying marine social-ecological systems
- Enable academic participants to better understand the realities and needs of practitioners
- Promote exchanges on forefront knowledge and methods, in an interactive and less formal setting than traditional academic training.
- Provide a place for networking and developing collaborations for future joint projects.
Target audiences
BRIDGES schools are primarily aimed at:
- Students and young researchers recruited as part of the program (master’s students, doctoral students, post-docs, engineers).
- Students from universities in the southwestern Indian Ocean region
- BRIDGES partners and other professionals.
Places may also be available for researchers or students involved in projects not related to BRIDGES.
Details
- Duration: 1 to 2 weeks, in English.
- Format: scientific conferences, practical workshops, tutorials, and field trips.
- Supervision: international experts and experienced researchers.
- The schools are free of charge.
- Participants are selected on the basis of their skills, motivations, and academic or professional needs.
We are open to and seeking collaborations with existing programs, universities, academic actors and other contributors to organize future schools in the region, in order to advance science in the service of biodiversity conservation and fair and sustainable fishing in the Indian Ocean.
Please feel free to contact us to discuss this further :
Planned timetable for the coming years
2025
BRIDGES x WIOMSA School 2025
Strengthening interdisciplinary approaches for the resilience of marine social-ecological systems in the Western Indian Ocean
Organized from September 22 to 26, 2025, ahead of the WIOMSA 2025 Symposium, the BRIDGES x WIOMSA school will bring together experts, young researchers and practitioners from the Indian Ocean.
Pedagogical objectives:
- Understand the fundamental concepts of social-ecological systems (SES)
- Use concrete governance and planning tools
- Know how to collect, process and share environmental and social data
- Develop skills in stakeholder engagement and co-construction.
BRIDGES x DATA TERRA 2025
Towards FAIR, ethical, and sustainable research data management for Open Science
BRIDGES is launching a series of thematic schools on data management at its four partner sites. In 2025, the program is partnering with the Data Terra research infrastructure to offer two dates. The first school will take place from December 8 to 12 in Réunion Island. The second will take place from December 15 to 19 in Moroni, Comoros.
Pedagogical objectives:
- Identify existing data in the region related to BRIDGES themes and provide keys to managing it
- Provide training in global best practices related to the research data lifecycle, Open Science, and FAIR principles
- Learn about best practices for the different stages of the data lifecycle: from data reuse or creation to publication and promotion.
2026
Connectivity school
More information to come
2027
Modelling school
Towards a digital avatar of marine socio-ecosystems
Educational objectives: master theoretical and practical E2E modeling tools
More information to come
Reproducible Research school
Learning digital methods to ensure the reproducibility and interoperability of research work
More information to come