Educating the Global Maritime Professional—a case of collaborative e-learning

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to develop a new educational approach responding to the needs of new areas of knowledge, skills, and attitudes in maritime education and training (MET) as set forth in the recently published Global Maritime Professional initiative (IAMU 2019). In particular, this study explores the development of a collaborative e-learning approach targeting young maritime professionals coming together from different MET institutions. An action research process has been employed, where faculty, administrators, and students from four MET institutions participated to understand evolving educational needs and the need for new educational approaches. Based on the outcome, a new collaborative e-learning approach was tested and evaluated with students from the MET institutions. The findings give evidence of new educational needs in MET concerning leadership, teamwork, communication, cultural awareness, and new technology applications. The results point toward how collaboration is needed to infuse new topical expertise to MET institutions and to enable students (and instructors) to increase collaboration, including the importance of socialization between students from different MET institutions; how it is possible to develop new dynamic e-learning materials to give students access to new topic expertise; and the provisions of application and analytical learning activities with an e-learning educational approach. MET institutions are under pressure to develop new educational topics and approaches. At the same time, they are experiencing resource constraints and tend to operate in isolation. The results of this study provide a route forward as to how MET institutions can come together to develop new forms of education using the latest e-learning educational methods and technologies.