The annual Coastal and Regional Ocean Community Model (CROCO) Summer School was hosted by SAEON, in partnership with CNRS/IRD, and supported by the Centre for High Performance Computing (CHPC). The two-week programme took place from 23 November to 5 December, bringing together students and early-career researchers for intensive, hands-on training in regional ocean modelling.
The summer school covered the fundamentals of the CROCO modelling framework, providing participants with a strong grounding in model configuration, dynamics, and numerical methods. Building on this foundation, participants were able to choose between two advanced training streams: ocean–atmosphere coupling or ocean–biogeochemistry coupling, allowing them to tailor the programme to their research interests.
Teaching was led by seven French CROCO experts, alongside Professor Babatunde Abiodun and Dr Jenny Veitch, who contributed regional expertise and insight into coupled ocean systems relevant to southern Africa. The combination of international and local lecturers ensured both technical depth and strong regional context.
With access to high-performance computing resources and a collaborative learning environment, the CROCO Summer School strengthened modelling capacity in the region and fostered new connections between South African and international ocean modelling communities.
