Ocean i3
A university project for educational innovation in relation to the region and for the sustainability of the oceans.
About Ocean i3
The Ocean i3 Project is aimed at the challenge of plastic pollution of the oceans and its mission is to contribute to reducing pollution on the Basque-Aquitaine cross-border coast. The name Ocean i3 stands for the three “i's” in Basque: Ikaskuntza/Learning – Ikerkuntza/Research – Iraunkortasuna/Sustainable development.
It is an educational innovation project that seeks to develop cross-disciplinary skills in university students using methodologies based on research-based learning and is aimed at challenges linked to the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (RBL-SDGs).
Ocean i3 adopts the “Mission-Oriented Research and Innovation” approach (Mazzucato, 2018), and is conceived as a Civic University (Godard et al, 2012). Accordingly, it consists of structuring research work, projects and student internships around the proposed mission and mobilising the collaboration and co-construction of knowledge and solutions in close collaboration with territorial stakeholders from the public and private sectors and civil society. It develops skills linked to interdisciplinarity, cross-sectoral approaches, systemic and integrated views of problems, integration of SDG values and their values, and skills to manage intercultural and multilingual situations.
It is being carried out as part of the “Bordeaux-Euskampus Campus” partnership, through which the University of Bordeaux and the University of the Basque Country are positioning themselves in relation to the blue economy and the “Ocean Experiences” cross-border and Euro-regional smart specialisation strategy, which associates and mobilises all the players in the surface water and action sports sector. The Ocean i3 project is part of the Ocean Experiences-Sokoa Fort Campus Project created in 2015 by the two universities in partnership with the Aglomération Pays Basque (southern Hub), one of the 3 pillars of the innovation ecosystem designed by the Ocean Experiences strategy together with a Halle Créative-FABlab for prototyping, and the Ocean LivingLab (product testing and open-air laboratory).
