RIS 3 MAC

Instituto Universitario de Oceanografía y Cambio Global (IOCAG)

Instituto Universitario de Oceanografía y Cambio Global (IOCAG)

The Institute of Oceanography and Global Change is one of the seven university research institutes hosted by the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC), whose constitution was approved in August 2011 (1). This research institute is the natural consequence of the research activities developed in the ULPGC for three decades in the field of marine science.

The Marine Science Faculty pioneered these studies in Spain since the early 80’s. Those first trained professionals joined the faculty members who had hitherto been their teachers, thus setting up a comprehensive research environment. The report published by the Foundation for Knowledge and Development in its 2011 edition (2) highlights that ULPGC ranks as the first Spanish University in the field of Earth Sciences, in regard to publications included in the first quartile (> 70%), which certainly reveals the high quality of research performed by IOCAG members.

Furthermore, the creation of this new institute is part of the actions taken by the Canarian universities within the Tricontinental Atlantic Campus, seeking to convert the Canary Islands in a national and international reference in the field of marine research, leveraging its geostrategic location. IOCAG raises three objectives: 1) to enhace the Europe-Africa-America hub in the marine environment, 2) the internationalization of education, research, development and innovation and transfering the knowledge and information and communication technologies (ICT) of the marine environment, 3) intensify the sustanable exploitation model for marine resources to facilitate local economic development.