Our mission :
To have a lasting impact on the health of our marine environments by accelerating the leadership, influence and reach of exceptional early mid-career professionals working on solutions for the oceans and society.
Programme Ethos
The ethos of the programme is to support the Ocean Leaders in situ, wherever they live and work around the world. Since the programme’s launch in 2020, we have focused on remote delivery of bespoke leadership coaching, mentoring and cohort meetings. We also have in-person events including: a week in Edinburgh, an annual field trip, and participation at high-level conferences, e.g. Monaco Blue Initiative and the UN Ocean Conference in Lisbon.
Programme Overview
Edinburgh Ocean Leaders (EOL) is hosted by the University of Edinburgh, and is financially supported by the University, the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, Baille Gifford, and other organisations and individuals.
EOL is designed to accelerate the leadership, creativity and influence of exceptional ocean professionals working together to make a significant positive impact on the health of the World’s oceans. Our underlying ‘theory of change’ is that distributed, creative and enabled leadership is a prerequisite to achieving this urgent and transformational positive change.
This rationale informs the goals and design of the programme, in particular, support for the Ocean Leaders to enhance their: transformative leadership capabilities; complex problem solving abilities; and international reach and influence through collaborative action.
The overall goal of EOL is to create and sustain a life-long network of ocean change-makers. Towards this, the programme supports leadership training, mentoring, professional development and online networking opportunities. This typically includes: a series of remote and face-to-face coaching dialogues; annual induction event and meeting; a joint field mission; and engagement with international ocean initiatives to help shape tangible pathways into action
Meet the latest cohort of professionals to join the Edinburgh Ocean Leaders Programme.
News

Hugo Tagholm: Inside Science
Radio Show Wild Isles – In 2020, the UK government committed to protecting at least 30% of land and sea for nature by 2030. Step seven years into the future

Angelique Pouponneau: Blue Economy – the perspectives of small island developing States
Open Access Journal Article ABSTRACT: Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are amongst the foremost advocates for the blue economy concept; and yet, their perspectives remain marginalised in academic literature. Furthermore,

The 2023 Ocean Leader Film
How are you leading positive change for the ocean? We asked 8 exceptional ocean professionals from across the globe selected to take part in the 2023 Edinburgh Ocean Leaders programme.