ISA-China Joint Training and Research Centre
About the JTRC
The ISA-China Joint Training and Research Centre (JTRC) was launched in November 2020 during a virtual ceremony hosted by ISA Secretary-General Mr. Michael W. Lodge and the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Natural Resources of China, Mr. Wang Hong.
The JTRC was established as the first-ever joint training and research centre in Qingdao, China following the signing of a memorandum of understanding between ISA and the State Oceanic Administration of China in October 2019. The JTRC provides a new platform for ISA to promote capacity-building and the transfer of marine technology to developing States to advance and share human knowledge of the deep ocean and its environment.
Training workshops
The JTRC offers training programmes in marine science and technology, as well as in techniques for marine scientific research designed to facilitate the full participation of developing States in activities in the international deep-seabed area.
It supports the conduct of collaborative research programmes related to the latest developments concerning activities in the deep seabed, along with organizing conferences and workshops and disseminating the results of marine scientific research in easily accessible publications.
The first training took place virtually from 24 to 26 May 2022 and involved 55 participants from 20 countries, including 45 per cent of nationals from least developed countries, landlocked developing countries or small island developing States and 45 per cent of women.
The first JTRC workshop focused on survey and assessment of mineral resources, characteristics of deep-sea ecosystems and environmental management, and the global repository of data from exploration activities in the Area.
The second JTRC training workshop will take place in Qindao, China and will focus on marine science and technology. It is targeted at junior scientists and engineers from diverse backgrounds (marine geologists, marine biologists, oceanographers, biogeochemists and others) with an interest in the deep sea as well as governmental officials.
The programme of the two-week training workshop will include
- Theoretical lectures on deep-sea related topics such as mineral resources, environmental protection, deep-sea biodiversity and habitats, and deep-sea technologies and equipment
- Operational practice of underwater vehicles and simulators
- Site visits to the ocean-related institutions in Qingdao
- Offshore operation onboard a research vessel
- Participation in an international symposium that will take place in Qingdao
- Group assignment and evaluation.
JTRC Steering Committee
The JTRC Steering Committee is the governing body of the JTRC. It was established in 2020 with the purpose of guiding the institutional set-up of the Centre and the work of the JTRC Secretariat. The Committee has held three meetings so far (in 2020, 2021 and 2022). The Committee was responsible for creating the Centre’s structure and work plan, and adopted documents related to the JTRC training activities.
The JTRC Steering Committee is composed of the following members:
- Mr. José Dallo Moros, Chair of the Steering Committee and Director of the Office of Environmental Management and Mineral Resources, ISA
- Dr. Georgy Cherkashov, Research Director of The All-Russia Scientific Research Institute for Geology and Mineral Resources of the Ocean, The Russian Federation
- Dr. Suzan Mohamed El-Gharabawy, Head of the Marine Geophysics Department at the National Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries, Egypt
- Mr. Fan Jingsheng, Deputy Director-General of China Deep Ocean Affairs Administration
- Ms. Chen Danhong, Director-General of the Department of International Cooperation, Ministry of Natural Resources of China
- Mr. Pan Xinchun, Vice President and Secretary-General of China Oceanic Development Foundation
- Ms. Gu Wu, Director-General of National Deep Sea Center of China
