The event took place on the 15th of October in Kherson, Ukraine and coincided with the annual inauguration ceremony of new cadets into KSMA. Present at the event were officials from local and central government, International Maritime Employers Council (IMEC), representatives from Marlow Navigation Ukraine and Marlow corporate head office in Cyprus, the media, as well as other shipping companies.
"The past 10 years were a continuous success story in the area of maritime training and development, both for KSMA, as well as for Marlow Navigation, but more so for the many cadets that have been trained to become Marine professionals and specialists. The first graduates sailing by now as Masters and chief engineers on board modern vessels," said Chairman, Marlow Navigation, Hermann Eden during his speech to the cadets and guests.
Marlow is an industry partner to the Academy, employing Ukrainian cadets on-board crew managed ships as part of its ‘hands-on’ approach to training and developing maritime officers. Marlow selects KSMA students to join the company after their second study year as cadets. These students continue their studies in designated Marlow classes and return to the company when they have graduated as officers. The company further supports the academy by helping to upgrade and enhance education and training facilities.
"This co-operation proves well that a close relation between the educational institution and the industry is the best basis for a training that produces graduates fitting the needs of the industry and complying with modern requirements, being able to perform in this fast changing, demanding environment of international shipping," continued Eden.
Over the last 10 years, many projects have been initiated and completed jointly between Marlow and KSMA. The installation of the only free fall life boat in Ukraine, implementation of the communicative English teaching programme, development of the heavy lift course and the heavy lift simulator, commissioning of new laboratories and simulators, among many other.
"This development would not have been possible without the vision and dedication of the rector of the Academy, Professor Volodymyr Fedorovic Khodakovskiy and his team of specialists. The hard work of the rector and his team, the willingness to change and to adapt to a competitive environment made KSMA what it is today, the best Maritime training institution in Ukraine. As well as to Captain Walter Wekenborg (Marlow's former director of training) and his team, who dedicated their time and work to make this partnership successful," added Eden.
During the event, Marlow and KSMA renewed their maritime training cooperation. An official signing of memorandum for the establishment of the International Maritime Education and Training Cluster on the base of the Academy was also signed.
The aim of the cluster is to create an attractive investment climate for foreign investors in the Academy, providing proper conditions to systematically improve the quality of training and education of Ukrainian seafarers in order to improve their competitiveness in both national and global labour markets and to help meet the industry’s increasing demand for marine officers.
Read more about training at Kherson State Maritime Academy (KSMA)
Visit webpage of Marlow Navigation Ukraine
