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Nippon Foundation/GEBCO Training Program

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Welcome to the Year 16 Class of the Nippon Foundation/GEBCO Training Program

The GEBCO community is pleased to welcome the students just beginning the 2019/2020 class of the Nippon Foundation/GEBCO Training Program at the University of New Hampshire.

The Year 16 class adds three new countries to the global network of young ocean mappers with 96 students representing 43 countries now trained at the Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping (CCOM) over the last 16 years.
 

Year 16 class of the Nippon Foundation/GEBCO Training Program

Year 16 class of the Nippon Foundation/GEBCO Training Program

This 12-month course leads to a Postgraduate Certificate in Ocean Bathymetry (PCOB) and aims to train a new generation of scientists and hydrographers in ocean bathymetry.

GEBCO and the Nippon Foundation jointly select six students each year out of the 122 applicants received from 37 countries, on the basis of a number of criteria such as previous education; support/endorsement of home organization and likelihood of working in ocean mapping upon completion of the training.

The new class includes from left to right in the above image:

  • Simitrio Morales is from Mexico. He is a Commander in the Mexican Navy and was Deputy Director of Hydrography and Cartography for DIGAOHM.  He graduated from the Naval Academy and later specialized in hydrography and cartography.
  • Diego Billings is from Jamaica.  He is a Hydrographic Surveyor with the National Land Agency (Surveys and Mapping Division). His educational background is in Surveying and Geographic Information Sciences.
  • Carol Lavagnino is from Brazil. She recently received her Master’s in Marine Geology and Geophysics with a focus on habitat mapping construction and geomorphometry analysis.
  • Danai Lampridou is from Greece. She is a Ph.D. student in Marine Geology-Geophysics at the National Kapodistrian University and has work experience in both the Academic and private sector. 
  • Ryosuke Nagasawa is from Japan.  His focus on AUVs at the Hydrographic and Oceanographic Department of the Japan Coast Guard (JHOD). He has a background in Astronomical Sciences related to the geodesy of the Earth-Moon system.
  • Tion Uriam is from the Republic of Kiribati. He is Head of the Hydrographic Unit with the Ministry of Communications Transport and Tourism Development.  He has a background in Geospatial Science and Applied Science (Surveying).
Home countries of Nippon Foundation-GEBCO Training Program Scholars shown in orange with the home countries of the Year 16 class marked with a hashed red pattern

Home countries of Nippon Foundation/GEBCO Training Program Scholars shown in orange with the home countries of the Year 16 class marked with a hashed red pattern

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