Latvian maritime education will be even more closely connected with related European educational institutions and industry, as on 5 March Riga Technical University (RTU), RTU Latvian Maritime Academy (RTU LMA) and RTU Liepaja Maritime College (RTU LMC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding on participation in the MET-NET (Maritme Education and Training Network) network of maritime educational institutions and related organisations. This will strengthen maritime education and help to innovate the study content in line with modern technology trends and their implementation on board ships.
MET-NET is a platform for the exchange of information, knowledge and experience between the Memorandum partners on specific maritime education issues. Its main objective is to develop proposals for the development of maritime education programmes and to improve the professional training of seafarers not only in the Memorandum Member States but also more widely. The accession of RTU, RTU LMA and RTU LMC to the platform will promote knowledge exchange, strengthen the development of maritime education institutions, international visibility and links with the maritime industry.
«Today is an important day for us as we join the international maritime education platform and adopt the European maritime education tradition of how maritime processes are managed,» said RTU Rector Tālis Juhna at the signing of the Memorandum.
Maritime education in the European Union (EU) Member States is governed by the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW), adopted in 1978. However, the challenges in the learning process are posed by the rapid development of new technologies, the introduction of new standards in the fields of maritime safety, protection of the marine environment and seafarers' welfare, as maritime education institutions are not always able to keep abreast of all current developments and adapt their study programmes accordingly to the latest trends in these fields. Educational institutions also have different perceptions of what is relevant and in demand in maritime education today and in the future.
«By participating in MET-NET, maritime education institutions can access valuable resources and networking opportunities, thus strengthening formal and informal links between educational institutions and others in the sector and making optimal use of available resources to develop maritime education programmes in line with the latest technological developments,» explains Edijs Štāls, Acting Director of RTU LMA.
Jānis Džeriņš, Director of RTU LMC, agrees with him, stressing that joining the Memorandum is a step taken jointly with international partners, as it is also important for maritime colleges to know the latest information on current developments in the sector in order to plan and develop their training programmes accordingly.
MET-NET partners are also expected to develop proposals for various EU grant programmes, as well as to work with maritime transport and maritime organisations, research institutes, social partners and policy makers, including the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) and the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA).
MET-NET was established on 31 May 2023 in Brussels at the end of the international «SkillSea» project, which developed maritime education content packages on sustainable and future-oriented skills for the maritime transport sector, while MET-NET was created to reinforce the developed sustainable skills strategy.
MET-NET currently brings together 30 partners from 16 European countries.
RTU is the only state-founded higher education institution in Latvia implementing maritime education programmes, as during the consolidation of higher education on 1 November 2022 RTU was joined by the Latvian Maritime Academy as an autonomous structural unit, and on 1 April 2023 - by the Liepaja Maritime College, thus completing the reorganisation of maritime education in the country.
