Early Career Ocean Professional Network

Fostering a new generation of actors

The BRIDGES programme funds and supports a large network of Early Career Ocean Professional (ECOP), funded by its targeted projects, and by two calls for PhD clusters. These doctoral students, post-doctoral fellows and engineers contribute to meeting the scientific challenges of BRIDGES, by developing research rooted in the realities of the workshop sites.

These ECOP benefit from an intercultural, interdisciplinary environment of scientific excellence, enabling them to become scientific experts capable of understanding, managing and transforming the marine socio-ecological systems of the South-West Indian Ocean (SWIO).

Thanks to the diversity of their profiles and backgrounds, they will become ocean actors, academics, managers, politicians, entrepreneurs or actors in the associative sectors, in the SWIO region and beyond.

PhD Clusters

BRIDGES PhD student cohorts

The BRIDGES programme funds and supports two clusters of theses over the periods 2026-2029 and 2029-2032.

A PhD cluster is a group of multidisciplinary and complementary PhD projects that contribute to addressing the scientific challenges of BRIDGES. Deployed across all field sites, this cohort of PhD students will tackle common issues through a transdisciplinary approach to deliver innovative solutions. To support their work, the BRIDGES program funds their three-year doctoral contracts, as well as a €20,000 research environment package.

Cohorts of PhD students also benefit from an integrated, compulsory training course combining:

• Scientific training (e.g. modelling of socio-ecological systems, observation, integrated analysis),
• Cross-disciplinary training (e.g. communication, entrepreneurship),
• Meetings or networking that promote collaboration and co-construction between peers.

PhD Cluster 2026-2029

The selection of the 2026-2029 PhD Cluster took place in two steps:

• Call for PhD topics between November 2025 and February 2026. Following this call, 10 subjects were selected and are funded by BRIDGES.
• A call for applications for future PhD students was open between April and June 2026. Following this call, 10 PhD students were selected to join the 2026 PhD cluster cohort. This cohort will begin its research in October 2026.

The first BRIDGES doctoral training session will take place from December 4 to 9, 2026, in Reunion Island. It will bring together the PhD students from the PhD cluster as well as volunteer PhD students enrolled in the targeted projects. This inaugural milestone event will be dedicated to the transformation of fisheries socio-ecosystems in the SWIO and will foster connections within this developing scientific network.

Discover the network

This section is currently under development and will introduce the young professionals involved in the program. This information will become accessible in October 2026 and will be regularly updated