In a bid to further strengthen the existing cooperation with the International Seabed Authority, China has granted funding to support between 3 – 5 candidates from developing countries in the field of marine sciences to pursue Masters or Doctorate degrees in Marine Science at the Tongji University in Shanghai, China.
Applicants for the ISA-Tongji University scholarships must have a bachelor’s degree in geology, chemistry or biology, must be under the age of 35 and must be nationals of developing countries.
The Scholarship Programme Announcement stresses that applications remain open for a period of six months from 10 May 2010 and must be submitted to the International Seabed Authority. The Authority will compile a list of qualified applicants from which a shortlist will be drawn up on the basis of qualifications and admission requirements agreed with Tongji University.
In June 2009, the Authority signed a Memorandum Of Understanding (MOU) with China to strengthen existing cooperation in issues relating to the international seabed in the field of geological modeling of new mineral resources; the establishment of technical standards for marine protected areas (MPAs) and to assist in aspects of personnel training and marine science popularization.