Issue date: 01 December 2023
UPDATE (23 January 2024) The following candidates have been selected:
| Rank | First Name | Last Name | Sex | Country | Country Class. |
| First-ranked Candidates | |||||
| 1 | Sara | Ilani | F | Tanzania | LDC |
| 2 | Milly | Koech | F | Kenya | |
| 3 | Ezekiel | Azuure | M | Ghana | |
| 4 | Mohammad Khairul | Islam | M | Bangladesh | LDC |
| 5 | Donald | Deda | M | Albania | |
| 6 | Ivaldo | FumO | M | Mozambique | LDC |
| Reserve or Alternate Candidates | |||||
| R1 | Rushan | Çako | M | Albania | |
| R2 | Abdishakur | Ga’al | M | Somalia | LDC |
| R3 | Ashan | Jayathilaka | M | Sri Lanka | |
| R4 | Fation | Dedaj | M | Albania | |
| R5 | Raliya | Hayatu | F | Nigeria | |
| R6 | Daniel | Rukonu | M | Tanzania | LDC |
China Ocean Mineral Resources R & D Association (COMRA), in accordance with its Training Plan for the Third Five-year Plan (2022-2026) and, in the Second Five-Year Period Report for the Implementation of the Polymetallic Sulphides Exploration Contract (2017-2021) with the International Seabed Authority, is offering six at-sea, training opportunities for candidates from developing States.
The training programme is about 40 days and will be performed during a cruise scheduled from January to March 2024. The cruise is planned for conducting survey in COMRA’s contract area for polymetallic sulphides (PMS) in southwest Indian Ridge with COMRA’s research vessel. The exact dates will be confirmed and are dependent on the ship’s scheduling.
The objective of the at-sea training programme is to provide practical experience and activities related to polymetallic sulphides resources exploration and environmental baseline survey, including:
- Collection, processing, and analysis of geological and biological samples in the hydrothermal field;
- Geophysical survey planning and techniques for the use of geophysical survey tools and equipment;
- Sampling and evaluation of environmental baseline data, and;
- Scientific report writing.
COMRA proposes that the candidates should meet the following requirements:
- Education: qualified bachelor’s degree (or higher) in the field of geology, geophysics, and marine environment (biology or ecology) or an equivalent educational background,
- Language: sufficient knowledge of English for daily communication, including oral and written ability,
- Health: have good mental and physical health suitable to work at sea,
- Age: less than 45 years, and
- Other: seagoing experience (preferred but not a requirement).
COMRA will afford the following costs including:
- International airfares (economy class, round-trip tickets);
- Accommodations and meals on board and on land;
- Medical and incidental insurance.
How to Apply:
All interested applicants are invited to register through the ISA online portal through which they will submit their applications together with the necessary requested documents including:
- A copy of their passport photo and passport biopage;
- Signed nomination form [doc/pdf] by the nominating entity;
- Copy of degree/certificate;
- Updated CV; and
- Proof of sufficient knowledge of English.
Application Deadline: 31 December 2023
One of the Voluntary Commitments registered by ISA at the 2017 UN Ocean Conference (#OceanAction 40768) and reiterated in 2022 was ‘Enhancing the role of Women in Marine Scientific Research through Capacity Building’ – As partner of the Women in Deep-Sea Research project (WIDSR), COMRA has pledged to allocate 50% of the training opportunities to qualified women applicants.