NOTE: due to Covid-19 this course will be organised online only. The course will run from 12 -29 October 2020 with a duration of ~ 25-30 hours spread over 3 weeks. 

The IODE maintains a global network of National Oceanographic Data Centres (NODC) and Associate Data Units (ADU) responsible for the collection, quality control, archive and online publication of many millions of ocean observations. The concept of quality management has become increasingly significant for these centres to meet national and international competency standards for delivery of data products and services. The IODE Quality Management Framework encourages NODCs and ADUs to implement a quality management system which will lead to the accreditation.

This training workshop provides an introduction for NODCs and ADUs to the development, implementation and management of a Quality Management System which will assist in the adoption of comprehensive management practices and increased confidence in the quality of their data, products and services.

Aims and Objectives

• To introduce the IODE Quality Management Framework
• To introduce the ISO 9000 series of standards
• To provide a description of a Quality Management System
• To describe the importance of quality management for oceanographic data
• To describe the accreditation process for NODCs and ADUs

This is a practical workshop. The participants will work in teams to complete workshop exercises on each topic to reinforce learning and understanding of the requirements for a quality management system and the IODE accreditation requirements for NODCs and ADUs.

Target Audience

Course participation is restricted to representatives of NODCs and ADUs. Applicants must include an endorsement letter from their institution stating their commitment to work towards IODE accreditation of their data centre. Participants are encouraged to bring examples of their organization's workflow and processes.

NOTE: UNESCO is committed to promote gender equality. Therefore, applications from women are strongly encouraged.

Course Pre-requisites

• Good working knowledge of English is required

A certificate of participation will be issued to all successful students (90% attendance to the classroom course mandatory).

 The UNESCO/IOC Project Office for IODE is certified as a Learning Services Provider (ISO 29990:2010).

The OceanTeacher Global Academy is a Project of IOC/IODE supported by the Flanders-UNESCO Trust Fund (FUST) of the Government of Flanders, Belgium.