During the AGA21 in Alexandria, Egypt, five member universities of the International Association of Maritime Universities (IAMU) have signed an agreement for a Maritime Staff Mobility Program. “This is an exchange agreement based on long-term relationships and it feels fantastic that it’s now in place,” says Fredrik Olindersson at Maritime Sciences at Chalmers University of Technology the initiator of the program.
The five universities entering the maritime teacher exchange agreement are University of Rijeka in Croatia, Svendborg International Maritime Academy in Denmark, Willem Barentsz Maritime Institute in the Netherlands, Barcelona School of Nautical Studies in Spain and Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden.
The agreement, which was signed in Alexandria, Egypt, on Wednesday 27 October, runs for a period of four years, starting in January 2022, and entails that each university sends and receives one teacher to and from each of the other universities per year. And although it has been possible for teachers to participate in exchange programs before, this international exchange agreement is considered unique in its kind.
The Maritime Staff Mobility Program is aiming to enrich teachers with new ideas and a larger network of contacts, and in the long run ensure quality assurance and develop the education in European shipping.
“The purpose of this international teacher exchange is to learn from each other, and to get some insights on what others are doing well and use those insights to develop your own business at your home university. Hopefully, we’ll also get a receipt that we’re doing well in many aspects which may strengthen our staff. It also creates a large network of contacts for teachers that they will be able to use to develop within their subject area, says Fredrik Olindersson.
This is an exchange agreement that will give our teachers opportunity to experience different institution specifics and to develop their education skills and competences. Furthermore, exchange activity will give our institutions opportunities for further cooperation in terms of scientific research, education and project activities.
Takeshi Nakazawa, Executive Director of the International Association of Maritime Universities (IAMU), is very positive that the exchange agreement is about to be launched.
“I highly appreciate this kind of local activities voluntarily developed by IAMU member universities. International cooperation is a core activity for IAMU with the purpose to develop the global standard and sustainability of maritime education, training and research for the future,” says Takeshi Nakazawa.
More info:
Fredrik Olindersson fredrik.olindersson@chalmers.se +46-31-7722648
Jan Askholm askholm@simac.dk
Agusti Martin dega@fnb.upc.edu
Vlado Francic vlado.francic@pfri.uniri.hr
