Université Internationale de la Mer

WHO ARE WE?

Our history

The Université internationale de la mer (UIM) was founded in 1985 by Docteur Maurice Aubert, physician and oceanographer. This double filiation is symbolized by the UIM logo where a caduceus and an anchor are intertwined.

The creation of UIM was the result of a partnership between, on the one hand, the Centre d’Études et de Recherches en Biologie et Océanographie Médicale (CERBOM), based in Cap de Nice, founded and directed since 1960 by Maurice Aubert, Director of Research at INSERM (Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale), and, on the other hand, the Collège International de Cannes, founded in 1931 by Paul Valéry, in order to educate foreign students in the French culture and language. Several promotions of young people, French and foreign, were thus acculturated to the study of the sea and oceanography.

In 1996, the Université internationale de la mer was hosted in the premises of the former fishermen’s prud’homie in the port of port du Cros-de-Cagnes, made available by the municipality of Cagnes-sur-Mer. The UIM then provided various training courses: at university level in marine biology and geography, in partnership with the Université de Nice, and professional level through training of aquaculture technicians, captains and sailors with diplomas from the Maritime Affairs, among others.

Finally, all the scientific work of the CERBOM and the UIM has been listed in an index, the first pages of which can be accessed via this link.

Today...

In 2018, taken over by the founder’s son, Jean-Éric Aubert, the UIM continues its maritime training, organizes conferences of acculturation to the sea, and since 2020, with the arrival of Patrick Émeriau as deputy Chairman, redeploys by launching training related to the sustainable blue economy and the management of marine and coastal areas.

The UIM is positioning itself both internationally (particularly in Africa and Mediterranean), notably with distance learning, and locally, facilitating the employment of young people on the Côte d’Azur, by providing skills rather than theoretical knowledge.

The UIM integrates economic, ecological and social aspects into its training courses; it aims to develop human activities and preserve the marine environment.

The UIM is a multidisciplinary knowledge aggregator, a platform that brings together both academic and professional expertise, while relying on recognized partners.

AND MORE ...

Training for maritime professionals

…ship operation, safety at sea, etc.

Developing the skills of decision-makers

…public and private organizations concerned with the sustainable Blue Economy and marine and coastal areas.

Raising awareness among the general public

… to the challenges of the sea and the sustainable Blue Economy, through the organisation of events : MOOCs, conferences, symposiums, workshops, participatory science.

Acculturating people

… to the challenges of the sustainable Blue Economy. The UIM raises awareness of the sustainable Blue Economy among young people, students, companies and local authorities.

Bringing together and aggregating change actors

… to identify and recommend actions to reduce the human impact on living organisms. We are in favour of a reunified economy and ecology.

Physician specialising in head and neck surgery, combining his skills with his passion – the sea – he initiated a new discipline in 1960: medical oceanography. To support it, he founded in Nice, with his wife Jacqueline AUBERT, also a physician, the Centre d’études et de Recherches de Biologie Marine et d’Océanographie Médicale (CERBOM, 1960-1996), becoming Director of Research at the Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale. In 1966, he joined the CERBOM as editor of the Revue Internationale d’Océanographie Médicale, which he directed until 1994. When the CERBOM closed its doors, the AUBERT couple continued their research activities in a new setting.

Founder

Professor Maurice AUBERT

Become a volunteer at the Université Internationale de la Mer :

Join our team and be part of an exceptional human adventure! Participate in the reconciliation of socio-economic and environmental issues. At the IMU, we believe that one cannot exist without the other. You have the same vision! Let’s meet!