This comprehensive course provides an in-depth exploration of Coastal Resilience concepts that are key in supporting sustainable business practices and protecting communities against natural hazards and climate change-related impacts. Through five interconnected online modules and a range of interactive learning activities, participants will learn and implement the principles, technologies, and strategies needed to understand, assess, and bolster resilience within coastal regions, while emphasizing business responsibility and proactive risk management tailored to Asia-Pacific context. 

Building on the success of its first edition, this course is a fully online training focused on the Asia-Pacific regional needs and priorities, jointly coordinated by the Second Institute of Oceanography of China, Ministry of Natural Resources (SIOMNR), the IOC OceanTeacher Global Academy Regional Training Centre China (National Marine Data and Information Service-China, NMDIS), the Decade Collaborative Centre for Coastal Resilience (DCC-CR), the Western Pacific Subcommission of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO (IOC WESTPAC), Decade Capacity Development Facility (CDF), the Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change (CMCC) of Italy and the CINECA Interactive Computing Services in Bologna, Italy.

Needs and priority

Learning outcomes

Course content

The course is composed of five online modules: 

• Overview of Coastal Resilience and its importance for Business  
• Understanding coastal hazards from operational oceanography products 
• Impact Assessment and risk management  
• Enabling technologies for Coastal Resilience 
• Solutions for Coastal Resilience

The content will be further complemented by interactive discussions, case studies, and collaborative learning activities to support knowledge exchange and practical application.

Target audience

Pre-requisites

Language of instruction: English

Course Coordinators

Villy, Kourafalou

Contributing subject experts will be available later on.

Course Format & Duration

The online modules include both self-paced activities and weekly synchronous sessions (attendance is strongly recommended and tracked, but not mandatory). The online modules comprise an estimated 70 hours of training and will be available from 2 June until 11 August, 2026.  

Assessment & Certificate

This course contains self-paced automated assessments as well as written and oral assignments. A certificate will be awarded to the participants upon successful completion of: 

• All modules and lessons;
• Assessments and assignments (passmark: 70%);
• Completion of a pre and post-test; and
• Completion of a feedback survey. 

Application 

A limited number of seats are available, to be confirmed by the organizers at a later stage, depending on the support and accessibility required to the training activities. 

Applications process will run through OTGA online form. Please fill out the online application form available at this LINK. Applications open on 11 March 2026. The deadline to submit the application is 26 March 2026 (23:59 CET: Central European Time). Extended deadline: 02 April 2026 (23:59 CEST). NEW and LAST Extended deadline: 8 April 2026 (23:59 CEST).

Documents requested

Selection criteria

UNESCO is committed to promoting equal access principles. Applications from minority or underrepresented groups are strongly encouraged.

Costs

Free of charge. There are no tuition fees.

Contacts

For any questions, please contact OTGA Secretariat (ioc.training@unesco.org) always using the name of the course as e-mail subject.

Cancellation policy

In the event of cancellation of the course by the OTGA or its affiliates, we will provide notification of cancellation at least 7 days prior to the course date. In the event of cancellation by the attendee, we should receive notification of cancellation at least 7 days prior to the course date.