Communicating Ocean Science: Stakeholder Engagement and Impact

The following is offered as standalone courses and will form part of the growing Leadership in the Sustainable Blue Economy Certificate Program. Developed in collaboration with the Students on Ice Foundation and Canada’s Ocean Supercluster, this course is designed for learners from diverse backgrounds who are exploring, entering, or advancing within the blue economy.

Communicating Ocean Science: Stakeholder Engagement and Impact

UBC IOF Micro-certificate | 1 course | CAD $1,620 | 12 weeks | Live synchronous sessions

Communicating Ocean Science builds practical skills for making ocean knowledge accessible, engaging, and impactful. This course goes beyond traditional science communication, exploring diverse ways of knowing and collaborative approaches that make ocean science more relatable and meaningful to a wide range of audiences. Through interactive activities, discussions, and independent work, participants will develop written, oral, and multimedia techniques to connect with professional colleagues, industry partners, community and public stakeholders, and decision-makers across the Sustainable Blue Economy. Designed for learners from diverse backgrounds — whether exploring the field, contributing to your community, or building skills for a career — this course equips you to design clear, targeted messages and select the right communication modes and strategies based on audience needs and context. You will learn to adapt your messaging to align your goals with audience interests and evaluate the effectiveness of your communication through peer feedback. The course culminates in a final project in which participants produce a major and minor communication piece — such as a blog, podcast, TikTok video, brochure, or social media post — on an ocean-related topic of their choice. Developed in collaboration with the Students on Ice Foundation and Canada’s Ocean Supercluster. Designed and instructed by Dr. Rhea Storlund.

Dr. Rhea Storlund
Curriculum designer and instructor for Communicating Ocean Science, Dr. Storlund is a postdoctoral research and teaching fellow at the Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries. With a background in marine mammal diving physiology, she specializes in making complex scientific concepts easy to understand through clear examples and analogies. Her teaching emphasizes active participation, real-world examples, and reflection to help learners develop practical science communication skills.”

Next session

May 1 – July 30, 2026. Live sessions on Mondays, 12:00–2:00 PM.

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