From September 8th to 10th, the 27th International Maritime Lecturers Association (IMLA) Conference was held online. Prof. Shi Xin, Vice President of Shanghai Maritime University, Ms. Mayte Medina, Chair of the Maritime Safety Committee of IMO, and Dr. Cleopatra Doumbia-Henry, President of WMU attended the Conference. More than 120 maritime education experts, scholars and teachers from 34 countries and regions around the world gathered online and contributed their wisdom in MET.
In her keynote speech, Ms. Mayte Medina noted the appropriateness of the Conference theme, and its relationship to the World Maritime Day theme “Seafarers at the Core of Shipping’s Future”. She introduced the standards, models and requirements of future seafarer training from an international perspective. She stressed that, with the rapid development of new technologies, seafarers need to master more new technologies in the future. At the same time, the provisions of International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification, and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW) should be revised to adapt to technological innovation.
Dr. Cleopatra Doumbia-Henry said that the maritime industry is undergoing unprecedented changes. Maritime education and training must adapt to the impact of technological innovation, new industry regulations and sustainable development issues to meet current and future industry and labor market needs.
Prof. Shi Xin chaired the panel discussion of Maritime Training in Safety and Risk and communicated with experts and scholars from Germany, Japan, Malaysia and other countries on issues such as risk management on board during the epidemic. He also introduced the successful experience of SMU to conduct online education during the pandemic.
Prof. Jin Yongxing, Honorary Chair of IMLA, called for the committee meeting and AGM during the conference.
With the theme of “Seas of Transition: Setting a Course for the Future”, the Conference has brought together experts and decision makers in MET from all over the world to exchange views on the challenges and transformational countermeasures of maritime education in facing with the development of green and smart technology and the impact of the global epidemic.
