The ICBM is the Institute of Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment at the University of Oldenburg. At the Wilhelmshaven site, the former Terramare e.V. research centre, five working groups deal with fundamental and applied questions of marine and environmental research. The Institute of Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment investigates coastal waters and open oceans. It is the home institute of the currently most modern research vessel, the "Sonne". In addition to three research boats on site, the ICBM has state-of-the-art laboratories, experimental facilities such as planktotrons and aquariums, a workshop and a library. Around 70 people are employed in Wilhelmshaven.

The joint Wadden Sea Office has been coordinating cooperation between Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands to protect the Wadden Sea since 1987. Due to its global importance for biodiversity, especially for migratory birds, the Wadden Sea has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2009. The Office coordinates the activities of this globally unique natural landscape in areas such as communication, environmental education and sustainable tourism. The Wadden Sea Office also cooperates with West African countries along the East Atlantic Migratory Bird Route. It has nine employees and is located in Wilhelmshaven.

The "Marine Engineering" degree programme at the Jade University of Applied Sciences, which is offered in close cooperation with the Institute of Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment (ICBM) at the University of Oldenburg, is the latest course offered by the Department of Engineering. The department sees itself as "the engineering educator" in the classic engineering disciplines in the north-west. The "Electrical Engineering" and "Mechanical Engineering" degree programmes with Bachelor's and Master's degrees have been the foundation for more than 50 years. The technical degree programmes are supplemented by the broadly diversified "Mechatronics" and "Medical Technology". The degree programmes are also offered on a dual basis in combination with vocational training or study sponsorship in industry.

The AQUARIUM WILHELMSHAVEN with its new primeval sea museum has been privately run since 2002. It is both an educational facility and a magnet for visitors of all ages and interests. Over 300 different animal species from the North Sea, tropical coasts, coral reefs, rainforests and the underwater world of the Antarctic are on display in show aquariums with a total of 600,000 litres of fresh and salt water. The AQUARIUM WILHELMSHAVEN provides extensive information on these habitats, ecology, nature conservation, the history of life on our planet and animal husbandry.

At the SENCKENBERG Research Institute at the SEA, geologists and biologists conduct socially relevant ecosystem research in two research departments. The MARINE RESEARCH department investigates ecosystem changes in the North Sea with the help of its own research vessel, the SENCKENBERG, and researches the geobiology of cold-water coral reefs along the continental margins of the world's oceans. The department GERMAN CENTRE FOR MARINE BIODIVERSITY RESEARCH is dedicated to the taxonomy and systematisation of marine life forms, studies on the origin of today's diversity and on spatial and temporal changes in biodiversity in the world's oceans and coastal areas. In addition to traditional methods, modern molecular and biochemical methods are also used.