"This training has shaped me into a capable and confident young scientist. It's like one pool of experts and brains working together towards the sustainability of the ocean!" Bipasha Sookun, a research assistant at the University of Mauritius, attended the first-ever Coastal Ocean Environment School in Western Indian Ocean (COES-WIO) in September in Mombasa, Kenya. From fieldwork, laboratory analysis, data interpretation, and presentations, COES-WIO delivered a hands-on learning experience in ocean science. Happening in the framework of the #OceanDecade and hosted by the Technical University of Mombasa (TUM), Pwani University and Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute (KMFRI) with support from the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Government of Flanders, University of Michigan, Western Indian Ocean Marine Science Association and ECOP Africa, this 7-day training provided 75 early-career ocean professionals from across the Western Indian Ocean region with an opportunity to ...