For Universities & Research Institutions
Go to Sea With Us
Strategic partnerships and joint ventures with ocean-science institutions – to make seabed exploration affordable for the coastal developing countries that need it most.
The Gap
Ocean Science Is Far From the Waters That Need Exploring
Most of the world’s ocean-science capacity sits in a handful of countries. Most of the seabed that coastal developing countries hold rights to has never been surveyed – and exploration there is usually paid for, and controlled, by companies that hope to mine.
M-Cubed is an independent exploration company with no stake in mining. We explore as a service to coastal developing countries, who keep 100% of the data and the decision – to develop, to conserve, or to leverage untouched deposits through blue finance. Universities can make that exploration cheaper, better and more open.
Strategic Partnerships
What a Partnership Looks Like
01
Field-Test Your Innovation
Prove new instruments, sensors, methods and models in real survey conditions – on work whose results are published, not locked away by a mining contractor.
02
Lower the Cost of Exploration
Academic innovation is how exploration gets cheaper. Every saving we make together is passed on to the countries we serve.
03
Free Offshore Experience
Our surveys include early-career ocean scientists at no cost to them – meaningful, practical time at sea in the physical and geological disciplines.
Joint Ventures
A Deeper Role in the Mission
For institutions that want to go further: co-developing survey capability, running regional programmes alongside universities in coastal developing countries, or building joint research around the data we gather. Each joint venture is shaped around what both sides bring – and the sovereign always keeps its data and its decision.
New Ocean Scientist?
Share this page with your lecturers – and your university’s partnerships or commercialisation office.
The Open Letter, October 2024
The 190 Institutions We Wrote To
Listed as addressees of our open letter. Inclusion does not imply partnership or endorsement.
Show all 190, by country
Australia 4
- Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS)
- Coastal and Regional Oceanography Lab University of New South Wales
- Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO)
- Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies University of Tasmania
Bangladesh 6
- Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Maritime University (BSMRMU)
- Bangladesh Oceanographic Research Institute (BORI)
- Department of Oceanography Shahjalal University of Science & Technology
- Department of Oceanography University of Dhaka
- Dept. of Marine Fisheries and Oceanography Patuakhali Science and Technology University
- Institute of Marine Sciences University of Chittagong
Barbados 1
- Bellairs Research Institute McGill University
Belgium 3
- European Global Ocean Observing System EuroGOOS
- Flanders Marine Institute VLIZ
- Interfaculty Center for Marine Research University of Liège
Brazil 15
- Admiral Paulo Moreira Institute for Marine Studies (IEAPM)
- Center for Marine Studies Federal University of Paraná
- Centro de Estudos do Mar Universidade Federal do Paraná
- Departamento de Oceanografia Universidade Federal do Pará
- Departamento de Oceanografia Universidade Federal do Pernambuco
- Departamento de Oceanografia e Limnologia Universidade Federal do Maranhão
- Department of Oceanography Centro Universitário Monte Serrat
- Department of Oceanography Universidade Federal da Bahia
- Departmento de Ciências do Mar Universidade Federal de São Paulo
- Faculdade de Oceanografia Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro
- Instituto de Ciências do Mar Universidade Federal do Ceará
- Lab. of Chemical Oceanography and Marine Pollution, Universidade do Vale do Itajaí
- National Institute for Oceanographic and Waterway Research (INPOH)
- Oceanographic Institute University of São Paulo
- Oceanography Department Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina
Bulgaria 1
- Institute of Oceanology Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
Cameroon 1
- National Oceanographic Data Centre of Cameroon
Canada 5
- Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre UVic, UBC, SFU, UAlberta & UCalgary
- Bedford Institute of Oceanography BIO
- Canadian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society (CMOS)
- Department of Oceanography Dalhousie University
- Institut des Sciences de la mer Université du Québec à Rimouski
Colombia 6
- Centro de Investigaciones Oceanográficas e Hidrográficas del Caribe
- Centro de Investigaciones Oceanográficas e Hidrográficas del Pacífico
- Department of Oceanography University of Antioquia
- José Benito Vives de Andréis Marine and Coastal Research Institute
- Marine Sciences Group EAFIT University
- Oceanography Research Group, National University of Colombia’s School of Mines
Croatia 2
- Institute for Marine and Coastal Research University of Dubrovnik
- Ruđer Bošković Institute Center for Marine Research
Denmark 1
- Department of Oceanography Technical University of Denmark
Ecuador 1
- Fac. de Ingeniería Marítima y Ciencias del Mar Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral
Finland 1
- Marine Research Centre Finnish Environment Institute
France 12
- French Research Institute for Exploitation of the Sea (IFREMER)
- Institute of Environmental Geosciences Grenoble Alps University
- Institute of Marine Sciences European University
- Laboratoire Arago Banyuls-sur-Mer Oceanographic Observatory
- Laboratoire d'Océanographie de Villefranche-sur-Mer
- Laboratory of Space Geophysical and Oceanographic Studies (LEGOS)
- Marine Station of Arcachon University Bordeaux
- Mediterranean Institute of Oceanography Marseille
- Oceanography and Climate Laboratory LOCEAN
- Paul Ricard Oceanographic Institute Embiez
- Roscoff Marine Station University of Sorbonne
- Wimereux Marine Station Lille University of Science
Germany 6
- Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research
- GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research
- Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment
- Institute of Oceanography Universität Hamburg
- Integrated School of Ocean Sciences Kiel University
- Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research
Greece 2
- Department of Marine Sciences University of the Aegean
- Hellenic Centre for Marine Research Anavyssos
Hong Kong 1
- Swire Institute of Marine Science University of Hong Kong
Iceland 2
- MARICE Group University of Iceland
- Marine and Freshwater Research Institute Ministry of Industries and Innovation
India 27
- Academy of Maritime Education and Training Chennai
- Center for Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences; University of Hyderabad
- Centre for Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences Indian Institute of Science
- Centre for Marine Science and Technology Manonmaniam Sundaranar University
- Centre for Ocean and Coastal Studies University of Madras
- Centre for Ocean and Island Studies Pondicherry University
- Centre for Oceans, Rivers, Atmosphere and Land Sciences; Indian Institute of Technology
- Department of Marine Science Bharathidasan University
- Department of Marine Science University of Calcutta
- Department of Marine Sciences Berhampur University
- Department of Marine Sciences Goa University
- Department of Meteorology and Oceanography Andhra University
- Department of Oceanography and Coastal Area Studies, Alagappa University
- Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services
- Institute of Ocean Management Anna University
- K. Banerjee Centre for Atmospheric and Ocean Studies, University of Allahabad
- Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies
- Nansen Environmental Research Centre India (NERCI)
- National Centre for Coastal Research Chennai
- National Centre for Earth Science Studies Kerala
- National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research, Goa
- National Institute of Ocean Technology Chennai
- National Institute of Oceanography CSIR
- School of Earth, Ocean and Climate Sciences Indian Institute of Technology Bhubaneswar
- School of Energy, Environment, and Natural Resources; Madurai Kamaraj University
- School of Marine Sciences Cochin University of Science and Technology
- School of Oceanographic Studies Jadavpur University
Indonesia 3
- Faculty of Earth Sci. and Tech. and Ocean Engineering; Bandung Institute of Technology
- Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Sciences Diponegoro University
- Marine Science Department University of Riau
Iran 3
- Iranian National Institute for Oceanography and Atmospheric Science
- Khorramshahr Marine Science and Technology University
- Marine Science Faculty Tarbiat Modares University
Ireland 3
- MaREI University College Cork
- Marine Institute Ireland
- The Ryan Institute National University of Ireland
Italy 3
- National Institute of Oceanography and Applied Geophysics
- National Interuniversity Consortium for Marine Science
- National Research Council Institute of Marine Science
Japan 3
- Faculty of Oceanology Kobe University
- Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology
- Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology
Mexico 5
- Centro Interdisciplinario de Ciencias Marinas del Instituto Politécnico Nacional
- Facultad de Ciencias Marinas Universidad de Colima
- Faculty of Marine Sciences Autonomous University of Sinoloa
- Instituto de Ciencias del Mar y Limnología, National Autonomous University of Mexico
- Marine Sciences Faculty Autonomous University of Baja California
Monaco 1
- Institut océanographique
Netherlands 1
- Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research
New Zealand 1
- Cawthron Institute
Norway 1
- Norwegian Institute of Marine Research
Pakistan 1
- National Institute of Oceanography
Philippines 1
- Marine Science Institute, University of the Philippines
Poland 3
- Institute of Oceanography University of Gdańsk
- Institute of Oceanology Polish Academy of Science
- Maritime Institute Gdańsk
Portugal 2
- Centre of Marine Science Faro
- Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research
South Africa 1
- Department of Oceanography University of Cape Town
South Korea 2
- Department of Oceanography Pusan National University
- Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology
Spain 3
- Institute of Marine Science of Andalusia
- Marine Sciences Institute, Barcelona
- Spanish Institute of Oceanography
Sri Lanka 1
- Ocean University of Sri Lanka
Sweden 3
- Baltic Sea Centre Stockholm University
- Department of Marine Sciences University of Gothenburg
- Swedish Maritime Robotics Centre SMaRC
Taiwan 5
- China Maritime Institute Taipei City
- College of Marine Sciences National Sun Yat-sen University
- Institute of Oceanography National Taiwan University
- National Taiwan Ocean University NTOU
- Taiwan Ocean Research Institute TORI
Türkiye 3
- Institute of Marine Sciences Middle East Technical University
- Institute of Marine Sciences and Management Istanbul University
- Institute of Marine Sciences and Technology Dokuz Eylül University
United Kingdom 3
- National Oceanography Centre University of Southampton
- School of Ocean Science Bangor University
- Scottish Association for Marine Science University of the Highlands and Islands
United States 39
- Center for Marine Science University of North Carolina at Wilmington
- Coastal and Marine Sciences Institute University of California Davis
- College of Earth, Ocean and Environment University of Delaware
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Michigan
- Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Science; Florida State University
- Department of Marine Sciences University of Connecticut
- Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences Rutgers University
- Department of Ocean and Earth Sciences Old Dominion University
- Department of Oceanography Texas A&M University
- Florida Institute of Oceanography University of South Florida St. Petersburg
- Graduate School of Oceanography University of Rhode Island
- Halmos College of Natural Sciences and Oceanography, Nova Southeastern University
- Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution Florida Atlantic University
- Hatfield Marine Science Center Oregon State University
- Hopkins Marine Station Stanford University
- Institute of Marine Sciences University of California Santa Cruz
- Marine Institute University of Georgia
- Marine Laboratory Duke University
- Marine Science Center Northeastern University
- Marine Science Department Hawaii Pacific University
- Marine Science Institute University of California Santa Barbara
- Marine Science Institute University of Texas
- Marine Sciences Department University of New England
- Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami
- Schmidt Ocean Institute California
- School for Marine Science & Technology University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
- School of Marine Sciences University of Maine
- School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences Stony Brook University
- School of Marine and Environmental Technology, Florida Institute of Technology
- School of Ocean Science and Engineering University of Southern Mississippi
- School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology, University of Hawaii
- School of Oceanography University of Washington
- School of the Earth, Ocean and Environment University of South Carolina
- Scripps Institution of Oceanography University of California San Diego
- Shannon Point Marine Center Western Washington University
- Skidaway Institute of Oceanography Georgia
- Southern California Marine Institute California
- Virginia Institute of Marine Science Virginia
- Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Massachusetts
Vietnam 2
- Institute of Marine Environment and Resources Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology
- Nha Trang Oceanography Institute Khánh Hòa Province
Let’s Explore Together
Whether it’s a single instrument trial, places for your students at sea, or a joint venture, we’d value a conversation.
Michael Saunders, Founder
Geoscientist (MScR Geochemistry, Edinburgh; MSc Geological Oceanography, Bangor). Twelve years of research on marine minerals – from a school project to a thesis on hydrothermal vents. Read the research history →