TERP just joined a new EU Horizon research project as one of eight European partners. The project called i-Master aims to provide learning analytics from ship simulation exercises. One of the challenges identified is to enable simulator instructors to give more detailed and meaningful feedback during debriefing.

Ship simulation is an essential part of maritime education as it increases the quality of training. Still, most students and teachers want more hours of experimenting in simulators. How can we offer more quality training for students without heavy investments in new costly simulators? How can we offer students simulation training during the covid pandemic when in-person teaching is restricted? AR (Augmented Reality) simulation will soon make these challenges history. The technology allows students to conduct simulation cases at home on their living room tables using their smartphones.

Automated assessments are popular and cost-effective, but how do you ensure the quality? How do you know that an assessment measures the knowledge level it is supposed to measure? How do you know if your test distinguishes between competent and mediocre students?

During a pandemic like the one we have been facing over the past year, many questions arise as to how we can continue to educate our students. How can we make sure the students are still learning efficiently? How can we carry out exams for the students who are not allowed to meet in a normal exam room? There are plenty of digital platforms you can use for online lectures, such as Zoom and Google Meet. The teachers and students can meet up and interact despite not being physically in the same location. However, how can we efficiently distribute learning material and carry out exams for students in a way that gives everyone a fair chance at succeeding? There are certainly plenty of challenges educational institutions are facing when it comes to solving this complex issue.

Obsolete didactics and even national regulations serve as obstacles to effective learning in the maritime industry, despite an excellent starting point provided by the STCW. Traditional course instructor should be replaced by a facilitator that interacts with students in a blended learning environment. A key element in such a learning environment is educational technology that empowers the facilitator to adapt to the needs of the students.