University of Cebu and DNV have signed a Memorandum of Agreement to help enhance maritime education and training standards in the Philippines.
According to the partnership agreement, UC will use DNV to bring its BS course syllabuses, facilities and faculty to the next level of excellence to meet local and international maritime standards.
“The partnership is seen as a significant step in helping UC raise its educational standards, and to improve the skills of the future generation of Filipino seafarers,” said Capt. Sanjeev Soni, principal consultant DNV SeaSkill.
The verification and certification of the BS progams is expected to be completed in June 2010, making UC the first maritime university in the Philippines to have its programs certified by DNV SeaSkill. In addition, UC shall be benchmarked against the best maritime institutions in the world as well as DNV SeaSkill Standards.
Capt. Sanjeev added, “UC will be spearheading the effort to enhance maritime education and training standards in Philippines through this project. It shall be committing heavily over the next 5 years both in terms of time and monetary resources, to make this initiative a success story in the Philippines maritime training sector. UC faculty and teaching staff will be trained by DNV on best global practices for course design, development, and delivery. Also, plans shall be put into place for improving the campus infrastructure for more effective training under the recommendation of DNV SeaSkill.”
The signing of the agreement coincided with the visit of management from the Norwegian Shipowners’ Association and the Norwegian Training Center- Manila (NTC). Commenting on the agreement, NTC Managing Director Stein Eriksen said, “We are very happy to see that the UC has chosen to partner with DNV and its SeaSkill team. UC has with this agreement further strengthened its commitment to continuous improvement and to enhance maritime education and training here in the Philippines.”