An international research collaboration led by the Australian Maritime College has been awarded a grant to help ensure that maritime business degrees equip students with the skills needed by the onshore industry.
The grant from the International Association of Maritime Universities (IAMU) funds a year-long research project that will—for the first time—map the skills taught as part of business degrees with those graduates need for a career in today’s onshore maritime industry.
Researchers from the Australian Maritime College, Texas A&M University in the United States, and Memorial University in Canada will use focus groups and surveys to gather information on the skills the industry perceives as vital for onshore roles—such as port management, freight forwarding, commercial shipping management, and importing and exporting.
The researchers will then develop a tool to map the skills required against those taught in their undergraduate degree programs and, if gaps are identified, will be able to adjust their course content accordingly.
Project Lead, Dr Peggy Chen, explained that the funding will help ensure that students are as well-equipped as possible for employment in a dynamic environment.
“A significant proportion of maritime jobs are in the onshore industry, and technological advances mean that the nature of many of the roles is changing more quickly than ever before,” said Dr Chen.
“Graduates, employers, and the industry as a whole stand to benefit from our work to review our business degree courses and ensure they prepare graduates for successful onshore careers.”
The group will report its findings in May 2017.
Published on: 03 Oct 2016
