This year, the IOW was the main organizer of the 23rd Coastal Summer School which took place on Hiddensee Island (Germany) from 12 until 22 September 2026. The summer school was organized together with the Alfred-Wegener-Institute, Helmholtz Center for Polar and Marine Research (AWI), and the Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon (Geesthacht, Germany). The topic of the summer school was 'Environmental monitoring-a powerful tool for sustainable management of our seas'.