Africa Centre of Excellence in Coastal Resilience |  University of Cape Coast

The Winter School on Computational Modelling in Marine Ecology, Fisheries, and Climate, hosted by the University of Cape Coast (UCC) through the Africa Centre of Excellence in Coastal Resilience (ACECoR), in partnership with the Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT) and financed by both Google Research and ZMT, concluded successfully on January 31, 2025.

The Winter School which took place over five days (January 27 -31, 2025), had participants from Germany and Ghana, engaged in expert-led sessions covering mathematical modelling in marine ecology, fisheries, and climate, with a strong focus on python and Agent-Based Models (ABMs). Lecturers Prof. Agostino Merico, Dr. Kwabena Owusu, Dr. Peter Steiglechner, and Prof. Joseph Aggrey-Fynn guided participants through key topics such as predator-prey systems, plankton ecosystems, fisheries, planetary temperature dynamics, and catastrophic climatic events. 

The programme was designed to combine theory with hands-on practice, including lab sessions dedicated to building computational models. A visit to the Elmina fish landing site provided real-world insight into fisheries, while a tour of Elmina Castle offered a cultural perspective. There were other inter-cultural exchange activities such as cultural displays from Traditional Culture Troupes.

The Winter School closed with evaluations from students and a certificate award ceremony, marking a programme designed to enhance skills in computational modelling for marine ecology and climate resilience a successful event.