Issue date: 27 November 2025
L’Institut Français de Recherche pour l’Exploitation de la Mer (Ifremer) pursuant to its contract for exploration for polymetallic sulphides with the International Seabed Authority on 18 November 2014, is offering one (1) Environmental Studies internship for candidates of developing States within its 2026 training programme.
PROGRAMME OUTLINE
The internship will take place within the deep-sea ecosystem studies laboratory of Ifremer, in Brest, for a duration of two months (approximately from October to December 2026, exact dates to be confirmed).
The internship will focus on the characterization of the fauna (especially macrofauna) colonizing experimental substrata deployed at the peripheries of active vent sites as well as in inactive areas on the TAG vent field along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. This experiment was deployed for ~14 months (2022-2023), with the goal to characterize colonization processes and provide a perspective on ecosystem restoration through the evaluation of the potential of artificial substrata as a tool promoting organism’s settlement. Substrata have been recovered, and colonizing fauna has to be sorted and identified, before comparison with natural communities established in the vicinity. At the start of the internship, the candidate will receive a short training in macrofauna sorting and identification of major taxa.
The activities of the internship will include:
- Extracting and counting macrofaunal individuals from the >300 µm fraction of the material collected on substrata (binocular work)
- Sorting individuals into major taxonomic groups (polychaetes, bivalves, crustaceans)
- Imaging and taking morphometric measurements on macrofaunal taxa.
- Set aside some individuals for barcoding.
QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS
Candidates should meet the following criteria:
Educational Background: As a minimum requirement, candidates should hold a Bachelor’s degree-level education (preferably in natural sciences) and should be enrolled in a first Master’s level course (or equivalent) in biology, preferably in marine biology, biodiversity and ecology or molecular biosciences.
Experience: It is desirable if candidates already had experience in marine biology, biology laboratory work and skills in sorting macrofauna, or at least motivation for careful work under a binocular magnifying glass.
Language Proficiency: Candidates must be proficient in either French or English (both written and spoken).
Other requirement: Candidates should hold a passport with sufficient validity after the planned departure from France to comply with French Visa requirements.
Disclaimer: Employees of ISA’s exploration contractors are not eligible to apply to the Contractors’ Training Programme.
FINANCIAL SUPPORT
Ifremer undertakes to cover the following costs:
- International airfares (economy class, return ticket);
- Accommodation, local transports in France, if required and meals for the duration of the training.
OTHER REQUIREMENTS
- The trainee will be required to sign a confidentiality agreement with Ifremer as well as the ISA’s Code of Conduct for Trainees of the Contractors’ Training Programme prior to the start of the programme.
- No later than four (4) weeks after the training has ended, the trainee shall submit an end-of-training report to Ifremer and the Authority outlining, inter alia, the training completed; the benefits of the training opportunity; the knowledge gained; and how the training will advance their career and/or education.
- Upon successful completion of the programme and submission of the relevant report, the trainee shall receive a certificate from the Authority.
HOW TO APPLY
All interested applicants are invited to register through the Authority’s CTP Application Portal through which they will submit their applications along with their supporting documents including:
- A coloured passport sized photo;
- A copy of valid passport biopage (with sufficient validity (at least 6 months) beyond the duration of training);
- Duly completed and signed Nomination and Recommendation Form [docx | pdf] by the nominating entity;
- Copy of degree/certificate;
- Copy of Curriculum Vitae (CV) or résumé; and
- Proof of sufficient knowledge of English or French.
Applicants must select the following options when applying for this training opportunity on the Application Portal:
Contractor’s Name: Institut Français de Recherche pour l’Exploitation de la Mer (IFREMER) PMS
Year: 2026
Programme Name: Internship
Specialization: N/A
Application Deadline: 20 February 2026. Late or incomplete applications will not be processed.
One of the Voluntary Commitments registered by ISA at the 2017 UN Ocean Conference (#OceanAction 40768) and reiterated at the 2022 UN Ocean Conference aims at “Advancing women’s empowerment in marine scientific research”– As partner of the Women in Deep-Sea Research project (WIDSR), Ifremer has pledged to allocate 50% of the training opportunities to qualified women applicants.
Should you have any questions please contact training@isa.org.jm.