(Seychelles News Agency) - Students in Seychelles and overseas who are interested in learning more about the concept of the Blue Economy can pursue a distance learning course through the University of Seychelles (UniSey), said a top official.

The course, which is a joint venture of the Commonwealth of Learning and the James Michel Research Institute at UniSey, is designated to attract beginners with an interest in the Blue Economy. It is free of charge and learners can apply as soon as it goes online in April.

The focal person of the Commonwealth of Learning in Seychelles, Marie-Reine Hoareau, said the course is of great importance to the Seychelles, an archipelago in the Indian Ocean.

“It will direct focus on the importance of eco-system services and sustainably managing coastal and marine resources,” explained Hoareau.

Hoareau added that the online course will provide insights on business opportunities while mainstreaming and implementing the Blue Economy knowledge into each development plan.

The content of the course will involve questions, reflections, and theses and will monitor the learner’s progress throughout.

This initiative to go virtual came after the 19^th Commonwealth meeting in 2015, which was attended by Seychelles’ President Danny, the Vice-President at that time.

At the launching ceremony of the online course last week, the chief executive of the Commonwealth of Learning, Asha Kanwar, said that the island nation can look into ways of becoming producers of knowledge rather than consumers of knowledge.

Kanwar said that maximizing the resources of the ocean in a sustainable way for the economic development of Seychelles.

“I can relate and understand why the Blue Economy concept is brought to great importance as in our country. This is for the fact that you are made up of 115 islands spreading over an exclusive economic zone of 1.37 million sq km of ocean. You are surrounded by the sea which for a long time has stood as the country’s economic progress,” Kanwar added.

Kanwar said that virtual learning facility will reach learners beyond the horizons, thereby giving UniSey a wider visibility within the Commonwealth.

After completion of the course, learners will be able to print their own badge and certificate and will be equipped with knowledge whether in tourism, fisheries, aquaculture, technologies and transportation.