UBO is a medium-sized university (around 20,000 students) founded in 1971, offering a wide range of programmes in all fields. It is a member of the Université Bretagne Loire (UBL), a regional coordination structure for higher education. The Université de Bretagne Occidentale (UBO) is located in Brest, in Brittany, on the north-western coast of France. It is a multicampus university, with the main site in Brest and satellite campuses in Quimper and Morlaix. Brest is an hour from Paris by air, or four hours by train.

IUEM is a leading centre for Marine Science innovation though its research, teaching and environmental monitoring missions. Its strong multidisciplinary approach spans from research in Human and Social Sciences to the Sciences of the Universe and Life Sciences, putting IUEM at the top of its field nationally. IUEM is situated in the Brest Technopole (Technology Centre), where it unites over half of the French scientific community working in the Marine Sciences.