TIM eMagazine Vol.3 Issue 12
MARINA hosts 2019
MET Conference
Credit : marina.gov.ph
T
o translate the trends in maritime education and training
into assets of the Philippine maritime industry, the
Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA), in cooperation
with the International Association of Maritime Universities
(IAMU), hosted the 2019 Maritime Education and Training
(MET) Conference and Workshop in Manila on 21-22
February 2019.
The MET Conference started in 2016 through a
memorandum of cooperation (MOC) between the MARINA and IAMU to
provide an avenue for discussion on how to further advance maritime
education and training in the Philippines.
MARINA Officer-in-Charge Vice Admiral Narciso Vingson Jr and
IAMU Executive Director Takeshi Nakazawa welcomed more than 200
representatives from the Commission on Higher Education (CHED),
maritime higher education institutions (MHEIs), maritime training centers
(MTCs), seafarer associations, research groups and course developers,
maritime instructors, as well as manning agencies participated in the
two-day interactive discussion about the trends in maritime education
and training, particularly about specialized maritime knowledge, student
engagement, assessment, maritime teaching and crew manning in 2020
and beyond.
Also tackled were the innovations in maritime education and training
and how it impacted the society and the development of Filipino
seafarers, the maritime education internet of things (IoT), and the
fundamentals of running a training ship in 2020 and beyond.
Capt. Pradeep Chawla, Chairman of the Global Maritime Educaation
and Training (GlobalMET) – an association of 80 maritime training
institutes across the world, was one of the remarkable speakers who
shared invaluable insights at the 2019 MET Conference.
The MARINA noted the affirmation made by Capt. Chawla that the
Philippines will remain as one of the top suppliers of competent seafarers
in the next ten years due to their high moral ethics, professionalism, and
integrity compared to other nationalities.
With this, the country has to keep up with the latest advancements
in maritime education and training by enhancing teaching methods
through digitization and gamification, among others, as well as virtual
reality and flip classroom to yield higher learning outcomes from
maritime students. Through these initiatives, Capt. Chawla said future
Filipino seafarers may have greater ability to process larger amount of
data at a time, better focus on critical issues, cope with increased stress
level, be more assertive, and work efficiently with remote teams.
Above all, he emphasized the importance of continuous learning to
active seafarers so they may contribute in the development of maritime
education and training by becoming maritime instructors or trainers in
the future.
Furthermore, the MARINA presented the 10-year maritime industry
development plan (MIDP) with emphasis on the manpower requirement
that is needed to be developed to effectively implement the MIDP’s eight
priority programs, especially on shipyard, logistics, cruise tourism and the
ancillary businesses of the first-ever maritime hub.
Aside from Professor Nakazawa, IAMU brought in Engr. Johan
Ljungklint, Dr. Damir Zec, Mr. Vlado Fracic, and Mr. Nguyen Thanh Son
to facilitate the open forum which focused on the future of the shipping
industry through autonomous and/or smart ships, the developments in
maritime education and training through digitization, threats on cyber
security, and expectations to maritime instructors in 2020 and beyond.
The two-day event concluded with the commitment from various
maritime stakeholders to seek the way forward in the eventual
enhancement of the Philippine maritime education and training system.
marina.gov.ph
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