COMING SOON!
Build Your Own Digital Twin of the Ocean
Set sail on a guided exploration of how a Digital Twin of the Ocean is built. We'll take you from data streams and models to real-world marine applications.
Developed by experts from the ILIAD project, this online course reveals the tools, methods, and insights behind Europe’s ever evolving Digital Ocean ecosystem, featuring a hands-on example for Marine Protected Areas.
Coming soon on the ILIAD Academy! Sign up to be first on deck when the course launches!
Bente Lilja Bye (BLB) and Arne-Jørgen Berre (SINTEF Digital) welcome you aboard.
Do you want to LEARN how to build a digital twin of the ocean?
About Your Experts
Bente Lilja Bye (BLB) and Arne J. Berre (SINTEF Digital) co-developed this course from the ILIAD Digital Twin of the Ocean project, combining innovation and scientific expertise in Earth observation, AI, and digital twin technologies. They are joined by several ILIAD experts contributing insights across the entire digital twin data pipeline, from data acquisition and modelling to visualisation and decision support. Together, they bring the full spectrum of knowledge needed to build and operate Digital Twins of the Ocean.
Meet the Digital Twins of The Ocean experts below!
Arne-Jørgen Berre
Chief Scientist, SINTEF Digital
Arne J. Berre is Chief Scientist at SINTEF Digital, specialising in Digital Twin and AI technologies across industrial and environmental domains. He serves as Scientific Coordinator of the ILIAD Digital Twin of the Ocean project and contributes to AquaINFRA, CLIMAREST, and DTO-BioFlow under the EU Mission Ocean. Arne has led key initiatives on Cognitive Digital Twins (COGNITWIN), Maritime Data Spaces, and international standardisation in AI, IoT, and Digital Twin frameworks through ISO, OGC, and the UN Ocean Decade’s DITTO programme.
Bente Lilja Bye
Founder and CEO, BLB
Bente Lilja Bye is the founder of BLB, a consultancy transforming Earth observation data into actionable knowledge. A long-standing member of the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) community, she brings extensive experience in operational Earth systems, capacity development, and data-driven innovation. Bente served as Innovation Manager in the ILIAD Digital Twin of the Ocean project and is currently partner in GEO4Water and CLEAR-EO, both adressing data spaces. She is drawing on experience from the European Sea Level Service and the development of tsunami early warning systems—connecting technology, science, and societal benefit through digital transformation.
Digital twin experts
The Iliad digital twins of the ocean online course "Build your own local digital twin of the ocean" contains contributions from a plethora of experts with experience and knowledge about the ins and out of the digital twin pipeline. Meet some of them below.
Macro Oliveira
Senior researcher, INESC TEC
Marco Amaro Oliveira joined INESC TEC in 2000 where he currently is a senior researcher and area leader in the Human-Centered Computing and Information Science Center. He is also invited teacher at Universidade da Maia on computer science, multimedia and information system degrees. In 2015 he co-founded MITMYNID, a startup built on knowledge and experience to upturn Logistics Services with adaptable solutions for transportation services, where he was Chief Innovation Officer up until 2022. Within the scope of his activities he has participated and managed several R&D&I projects covering Nature and Environment, Public administration, Transport and Logistics and Health and Wellness.
Tom Redd
Ocean Governance Leas, HubOcean
Tom Redd is the Ocean Governance Lead at HUB Ocean, a foundation with a mission to unlock the power of ocean data. Tom leads activities related to ocean restoration and governance. He is responsible for involvement in European activities and HUB Oceans role in the Iliad Digital Twin project. Previously, Tom has worked developing marine science funding programmes at a European level at the intergovernmental organisation JPI Oceans. His education is in marine science, policy, and law.
Raul Palma
Head of Data Analytics & Semantics, PSNC
Raul Palma (PhD) is head of the Data Analytics & Semantics department at the Poznan Supercomputing and Networking Center (PSNC), specialising in data modelling, semantic interoperability, and knowledge-driven analytics. With more than 18 years of R&D experience, he has led semantic architecture, data-space development, and digital twin work across numerous EU projects, particularly in bioeconomy and Green Deal domains. Raul coordinated the RELIANCE project extending EOSC with FAIR and open-science services and contributes to the Plan4all association. He is also co-founder and leader of the ROHub team, advancing semantic technologies for research and innovation.
Piotr Zaborowski
Senior Director, OGC
Piotr is the Senior Director for Collaborative Solutions and Innovation at OGC. He has experience from leading the OGC European COSI Program, managing initiatives across agriculture, marine, and the built environment. With an MSc in computer science and an Executive MBA, he brings extensive experience in commercial software development for Earth observation, telecommunications, and financial sectors. His expertise spans geospatial digital twins, data spaces, semantic technologies, and secure distributed systems for large-scale computation. Piotr is also active in joint standardisation and interoperability efforts through ISO, RDA, ITU, GEO, IDSA, and OASC.
Valentijn Venus
Founder, Ramani
Valentijn is a geo-entrepreneur and spatial scientist with extensive experience in transforming geospatial data into decision-ready information. Through his companies and his work at the University of Twente, he has developed foundational software capabilities that enable SMEs to apply geospatial analytics and edge-AI technologies across mobile and map-based platforms. With more than 25 years of experience as a project leader, consultant, and researcher, he has contributed to national and international initiatives on satellite data, prediction systems, and environmental monitoring of biodiversity, vegetation, and crops. At ITC, he serves as a senior lecturer and researcher focused on Earth observation for environmental studies, geo-journalism, and entrepreneurship.
Haitham Ezzy
Scientist, University of Haifa
Haitham Ezzy is a PhD student at the University of Haifa, specialising in marine data science and digital technologies for ocean monitoring. His research focuses on data integration, semantic interoperability, and the development of tools that enhance the accessibility and reuse of marine and environmental information. Haitham contributes to international digital-twin initiatives by advancing methods that connect citizen science, observational data, and advanced analytics to support sustainable ocean management.
Volker Hoffmann
Scientist, SINTEF Digital
Volker Hoffmann is a data scientist, data engineer, and project manager. He uses Digital Twins (with the SINTEF SINDIT framework) for data-driven problem solving in sectors such as energy, manufacturing, marine, and maritime. Volker has working knowledge of the sustainability space and he is interested in how artificial intelligence can support a post-growth economy.
Konstantina Papachristopoulou
Senior Project Manager, Netcompany
Konstantina is a Senior Project Manager at Netcompany. She has more than 20 years of experience in a wide range of Business Development and IT innovation projects, which span across various initiatives of R&D European and national programs. Coordination of 6 and Technical Management of 24 multi-disciplinary research projects, mainly focusing on innovative applications of ICT in various domains like cybersecurity, IoT, CPSs, Telecommunications, Health, Energy, Environment, and Sustainable Manufacturing.