Dr. Marina AlcoverAcademic director focused on measurable results and operational excellence in maritime education. Integrates IMO/STCW regulations and ISO 21001/9001 f
Diploma · 800 h · 8 modules
Diploma in Marine Instrumentation and Sensors
This program provides you with a solid foundation in the operation, calibration, and maintenance of instrumentation systems used in the maritime industry. Learn to interpret crucial data for the safe and efficient operation of…
Duration800 h
FormatOnline
Starts9 November
Places20 / 20
Prior knowledge
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Programme overview
What is the Diploma in Marine Instrumentation and Sensors?
The Diploma in Marine Instrumentation and Sensors
This program provides you with a solid foundation in the operation, calibration, and maintenance of instrumentation systems used in the maritime industry. Learn to interpret crucial data for the safe and efficient operation of ships and offshore platforms. Master the most advanced sensor technologies, from measuring environmental variables to process control systems and fault diagnostics.
Key Benefits
- Specialized Knowledge: Gain in-depth knowledge of sensor technology and its application in marine environments.
- Practical Skills: Learn to diagnose, calibrate, and maintain instrumentation equipment.
- Operational Optimization: Apply your knowledge to improve the efficiency and safety of maritime operations.
- Industry Readiness: Acquire the skills demanded by companies in the maritime and offshore sectors.
- Continuous Updates: Stay up-to-date with the latest trends and technologies in marine instrumentation.
Programme type
Diploma
Study mode
Online
Duration
800 hours
Modules
8
Start date
29-11-2026
Programme highlights
- Instrumentation Fundamentals: Master the basic principles and measurement techniques in marine environments.
- Advanced Marine Sensors: Learn to select, calibrate, and use sensors for oceanographic, meteorological, and biological parameters.
- Data Acquisition and Processing: Acquire skills in the collection, analysis, and visualization of marine data for informed decision-making.
- Practical Applications: Develop real-world projects in marine instrumentation, including the construction and deployment of monitoring systems.
- Regulations and Safety: Familiarize yourself with regulations and best practices for instrumentation and safety at sea.
- Boost your career in oceanography, marine engineering, and marine conservation with this diploma specialized.
Curriculum
Programme Structure
The programme is structured in 8 modules, listed below in order of study.
01
Basics of Underwater Marine Metrology and Electronics
- Principles of Oceanographic Instrumentation, Metrology and Data Acquisition in Marine Environments
- Challenges of the underwater environment: pressure, salinity, biofouling, corrosion and signal attenuation
- Materials and hyperbaric encapsulation - watertight connectors, wet connectors (wet-mate) and pressure boxes
- Analog and digital electronics applied to marine sensors: signal conditioning, amplification and filtering
- Analog-Digital Converters (ADC), Power Conditioning and Energy Management on Board/Submarine
- Industrial and marine communication protocols: RS-232, RS-485, NMEA 0183/2000, underwater Ethernet and CANopen
- Calibration of marine instruments, labouratory standards, traceability and calculation of uncertainty
- Metrological traceability and calibration
02
Physical and physicochemical parametres sensors (CTD and water quality)
- Architecture and principle of operation of CTD sensors (conductivity, temperature and depth)
- Measurement of salinity, density, speed of sound in seawater and calculation of depths
- Underwater optical sensors: fluorometres, turbidimetres, light scattering and PAR photometres
- Measurement of electrochemical parametres: pH electrodes, redox potential (ORP) and dissolved oxygen sensors (optical/galvanic)
- Nutrient sensors (nitrates, phosphates, silicates) and real-time PCO2 measurements
- Anti-fouling Mechanical, Chemical and Optical (UV) for Extension of Extended Deployments
- Integration of multi-sensor packages in sampling rosettes, gliders (gliders) and autonomous floats
- Nutrient and Chlorophyll Sensors
03
Acoustic sensors, sonar and current profilers (ADCP)
- Principles of underwater acoustics: piezoelectric transducers, wave propagation, frequency and attenuation
- Doppler Effect Current Profilers (ADCP): Theory, Operating Frequencies, Pulse Modes and Assembly
- Measurement of waves and tides using acoustic and background pressure sensors
- Single-beam and multi-beam echo sounders: performance, bathymetric resolution and attitude correction
- Side Sweep Sonar (Side Scan Sonar) and Sub-Fund Profilers (Sub-Bottom Profilers)
- Submarine Acoustic Positioning Systems: LBL (Long Baseline), SBL (Short Baseline) and USBL (Ultra-Short Baseline) 3.7. Hydrophones, Passive Listening Matrices (Passive Acoustic Monitoring - PAM) and Marine Audio Processing
- Hydrophones and Passive Acoustics
- Spot Meters
04
Navigation, inertial and surface positioning and subsurface positioning
- Satellite navigation systems (GNSS/GPS, GLONASS, Galileo) and DGPS/RTK corrections in the marine environment
- Inertial Measurement Units (IMU) and Attitude and Heading Sensors (AHRS)
- Fibre optic gyps (FOG) and ring laser gyroscopes (RLG) for high precision
- Pitch, Balance and Hevea (Motion Reference Units - MRU) sensors for dynamic data correction
- Underwater Inertial Navigation (INS) integration with ADCP (DVL - Doppler Velocity Log) and USBL
- Altimetry and Doppler speedometres for underwater vehicles (ROVs and AUVs)
- Dynamic positioning systems (DP) in ships and interconnection with reference sensors
- Inertial systems and digital compasses
05
Deployment platforms, autonomy and underwater robotics
- Instrumentation on board of remote operating vehicles (ROV) and autonomous underwater vehicles (AUV)
- Sensors in submarine gliders (Wave/Ocean Gliders), Argo floats and oceanographic buoys
- Benthic Monitoring Stations, Cabledos and Landers Submarine Observatories
- Power Supplies at Sea: Lithium/Lead Batteries, Energy Harvests (Energy Harvesting) and Marinized Panels
- Marine data telemetry: Satellite communications (Iridium/Inmarsat), RF radio modem and submarine acoustic
- Marine dataloggers, non-volatile memory data storage, and precision time synchronisation (PTP/GPS)
- Preventive maintenance, O-Ring seal inspection, pressure testing and internal hygrometry
- Oceanographic buoys and anchors
06
Remote sensors and remote sensing applied to the ocean
- Principles of Satellite Remote Sensing Applied to Physical and Biological Oceanography
- Satellite altimetry by radar: measurement of sea level, geostrophic currents and wave height
- Infrared and microwave radiometry: measurement of sea surface temperature (SST) and salinity
- Ocean Colour Sensors (Modis, Sentinel): Estimation of Chlorophyll-A, Organic Matter and Turbidity
- Coastal High Frequency Radars (HF Radar) for measurement of surface currents and waves in real time
- Use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs/marinized drones) with multi-spectral cameras and coastal Lidar
- Ground/Mar Validation (Ground Truthing) by in-situ data from marine sensors
- Altimetry and surface temperature by satellite
07
Data processing, quality control and artificial intelligence
- Real-time data acquisition and software architecture for marine sensors (Labview, Python, Matlab)
- Control and Assurance of Oceanographic Data (QA/QC) and QArDo Standards
- Noise filtering, anomalies detection, interpolation and sensor drift correction
- Multisensor data fusion for reconstruction of complex oceanographic variables
- Storage, geospatial databases and metadata standards (NETCDF, OGC, SeaDataNet)
- Application of machine learning and artificial intelligence algorithms for the prediction of marine patterns
- Scientific visualisation of 3D/4D data of the water column and integration with geographic information systems (GIS)
- Data formats and metadata
08
System integration, field testing and Capstone Project
- Design and engineering of a custom marine monitoring system: from requirements to the prototype
- Test Protocols in Hyperbaric Test Tank and Calibration Channel
- Manoeuvres for starting, anchoring, mooring (mooring design) and recovery of marine instruments
- Management of faults at sea, redundancy of sensors and remote diagnosis of faults
- Safety regulations in the handling of high-voltage and hyperbaric electronic equipment
- Cost analysis, selection of industrial suppliers and instrumentation life cycle
- Technical Report and Presentation
- Capstone Project: Design, electronic integration, test protocol and deployment plan for a marine sensor network or platform
Workload
Study Time and Workload
800 hours of study, online and at your own pace. Move the slider to the hours a week you can really put in.
Hours a week8
Weeks to finish—
You finish around—
Who it is for
Engineers, technicians, and professionals in the maritime sector seeking to specialize in the installation, calibration, and maintenance of marine instrumentation.Advanced students of naval engineering, electronics, or related fields interested in developing practical skills in marine sensors and measurement systems.Maintenance personnel of ships, offshore platforms, and ports requiring up-to-
Faculty
Academic direction and faculty
The teaching team at Navalis: working professionals who deliver and oversee the institute's programmes.
Eng. Diego Cifuentes
Cap. Javier Abaroa (MCA)
Dr. Pau Ferrer
Dr. Nuria Llobregat
Eng. Javier Bañuls
Eng. Sofía Marquina
Eng. Tomás Riera
Verified reviews
Student Reviews
Reviews collected and verified by Opynio, not written by us.
Outcomes
Learning Outcomes
- 01Implement and maintain marine instrumentation systems
- 02Calibrate and verify the accuracy of marine sensors
- 03Interpreting and analyzing marine sensor data
- 04Diagnosing and troubleshooting faults in marine instrumentation equipment
- 05Select and configure appropriate marine sensors and instruments
- 06Integrating marine instrumentation systems with control and automation systems
Careers
Career Opportunities
01Marine Instrumentation Technician: Installation, calibration, and maintenance of sensors and measuring equipment on board ships and coastal installations.
02Navigation Systems Specialist: Configuration and technical support of Global Positioning Systems (GPS), radars, and other navigation instruments.
03Marine Data Analyst: Processing and interpretation of data collected by marine sensors for environmental, oceanographic, or vessel performance studies.
04Instrumentation Consultant for the Naval Industry: Technical advice on the selection and implementation of instrumentation systems to optimize operations and ensure regulatory compliance.
05Marine Equipment Inspector: Verification of the correct operation and calibration of marine instruments in compliance with safety and quality standards.
06Marine Instrumentation Software Developer: Creation of applications for visualization and control and analysis of data from marine sensors.
07Researcher in marine sensor technologies: Participation in projects developing new sensors and measurement systems for marine applications.
08Marine instrumentation equipment salesperson: Sales and technical support of sensors and measurement systems for the naval and oceanographic industries.
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Questions
Entry Requirements
The main focus is the study, application and maintenance of instruments and sensors used in marine research and exploration.
Yes. The itinerary includes ECDIS/Radar-ARPA/BRM with harbor, ocean, fog, storm, and SAR scenarios.
Online with live sessions; hybrid option for simulator/practical placements through agreements.
Marine sensors and instruments.
Recommended functional SMCP. We offer support materials for standard phraseology.
Yes, with a relevant degree or experience in maritime/port operations. The admissions interview will confirm suitability.
Optional (3–6 months) through Companies & Collaborations and the Alumni Network.
Simulator practice (rubrics), defeat plans, SOPs, checklists, micro-tests and applied TFM.
A degree from Navalis Magna Institute + operational portfolio (tracks, SOPs, reports and KPIs) useful for audits and employment.
Online admissions
Admissions Process
No waiting for a phone call. If your documents are complete, you can pay in the same session.
Entry requirements
Academic/Professional Profile:Advanced technical degree or diploma in Electronics, Mechatronics, Physics, Engineering (Naval, Industrial, Electronic, Telecommunications) or related fields; or demonstrable experience in instrumentation, calibration, or maintenance of marine sensors.Technical Knowledge:Fundamentals of electronics, metrology, signal processing, and basic programming (desirable). Knowledge of industrial communication protocols (Modbus, Ethernet/IP).Documentation:Updated CV, copy of degree (if applicable), cover letter explaining interest in marine instrumentatio
Questions?
Frequently Asked Questions
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