Education Center News

Last week, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration announced the designation of 27 Centers of Excellence for Domestic Maritime Workforce Training and Education (CoE), recognizing community colleges and training institutions that prepare students for careers in the U.S. maritime industry.One of the 27 schools and institutions recognized is the Community College of Rhode Island (CCRI).The designation allows CCRI to work with MARAD to enter into cooperative agreements to help advance recruitment of students and faculty…

Women's International Shipping & Trading Association (WISTA) USA Florida Chapter participated in a sea turtle release with the Broward County Sea Turtle Conservation Program (BCSTCP) and Nova Southeastern University (NSU) on July 26, 2018.Forty nine WISTA members and guests attended the sea turtle hatchling release, which raised $1000 for the Broward County Sea Turtle Conservation Program.“As maritime professionals, WISTA members understand the significant role we can play to protect the habitats, nesting areas, and life cycle of sea creatures.

A new application for mobile devices which allows Sailors on-the-go access to many features of the Navy College Program (NCP) is available as of Feb. "The Navy College Program app offers Sailors mobile access to voluntary education planning tools, a counseling scheduler, and applications previously available only through the Navy College Offices or the Virtual Education Center," said Lt. Cmdr. Nick Turner, the Naval Education and Training Professional Development Center's Voluntary Education Program deputy director. *    Tuition Assistance - Links users to the My Education WebTA portal so they can submit a TA application and view the status of existing TA applications.

The Maritime Transportation Research and Education Center, based at the University of Arkansas, has received a federal grant of $923,700, reports AP. The center, known as MarTREC, is a consortium of researchers focused on maritime and multimodal transportation research. It has received $3.7 million since 2013. The latest grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation will support research and programs through September 2018. The Fayetteville-based center is part of a consortium of researchers from Arkansas, Jackson State University, Louisiana State University and the University of New Orleans. They focus on the development of sustainable infrastructure and emergency management systems for coastal and river valley communities.

Several petroleum-stained pelicans rescued from the blackened muck of California's latest oil spill spent the day on Friday being gently, painstakingly scrubbed clean at a wildlife rehabilitation center in Los Angeles. The six pelicans brought this week to the Los Angeles Oiled Bird Care and Education Center in the city's San Pedro harbor area were the first known surviving wildlife casualties from a pipeline rupture on Tuesday about 150 miles away near Santa Barbara. They were to be joined soon by two more oil-contaminated pelicans from the spill zone, said Christine Fiorello, a veterinarian from the Oiled Wildlife Care Network at the University of California, Davis.

‘Fideicomiso de Formación y Capacitación para el Personal de la Marina Mercante Nacional’ (FIDENA), on behalf of Mexico’s Secretariat of Communications and Transportation (SCT) has selected Kongsberg Maritime offshore simulators for the Marine Education Center in Ciudad del Carmen, Campeche. Appointed by SCT, FIDENA is the educational institution in charge of managing, organizing and developing the formal education of all seafarers in Mexico. As Mexico’s only institution offering higher level programs in maritime education…

The Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) announces the 2015 beneficiary of the Annual OTC Dinner—the Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA) and the Petroleum Equipment & Services Association (PESA) Energy Education Center for the benefit of the Energy Institute High School. OTC will host the fifth Annual OTC Dinner on Sunday, May 3, 2015 at NRG Stadium in Houston. The event recognizes industry achievements, raises funds for a worthy cause, and provides an excellent opportunity for industry leaders to network with colleagues from around the world.

The Inland Rivers, Ports and Terminals (IRPT) Trade Association announced today that it has entered into a memorandum of understanding with Lewis & Clark Community College - National Great Rivers Research and Education Center (NGRREC) and the Mississippi River Transportation, Distribution and Logistics (MRTDL) Consortium. “IRPT promotes the education of the river industry professionals. We continue to see the need for skilled workers in occupations in river transportation,” said Hugh McConnell, president of IRPT.

The University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, MS, and the Mississippi Regional SeaPerch Committee in mid-May hosted the Fourth National SeaPerch Challenge on the campus of Southern Miss. It was here that 108 teams of 451 middle and high school students – students from 19 states, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and for a first time ever, and international team from New Zealand – convened at the University’s Payne Center and Johnson Natatorium for a weekend of competition and fun.

Dr. Michael A. Alfultis, a retired U.S. Coast Guard captain, and the director and chief administrative officer of the University of Connecticut’s Avery Point campus, has been named as the next president of the SUNY Maritime College. Dr. Alfultis’ appointment was affirmed today by the SUNY Board of Trustees who met in Buffalo. He will begin his Maritime presidential duties on Monday, July 14. With more than 20 years of undergraduate teaching experience and 13 years of progressive academic administrative responsibility at both military and civilian institutions of higher education…

Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) announced today that its Ingalls Shipbuilding division has awarded nearly $108,000 in grants for 25 different projects from schools and educational organizations in Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. The grants, which were requested by all of the organizations, will be used for projects associated with science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). This is the sixth year for Ingalls' STEM program. The company has awarded more than $500,000 for STEM-related projects during that period.

PHILADELPHIA - The first graduate of the Naval Engineering Education Center (NEEC) began work February 13 as a naval architect with Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock Division - Ship Systems Engineering Station's (NSWCCD-SSES) Advanced Machinery Systems Integration Branch in Philadelphia. The NEEC, located in Ann Arbor, Michigan, was launched in July, 2010, to develop the talent of future naval engineers. The educational center was established through a $3.2 million contract award from the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA), and provides young engineers and scientists access to projects of interest and importance early in their academic careers to build knowledge and enthusiasm for the field.

Cruise Ship Professional Development and STCW Basic Safety Training Begins Monday. Renee Marazon, CEO, The Maritime Academy of Toledo Foundation, said today that the new Cruise Ship Professional Development Training and the U.S. Coast Guard approved Basic Safety Training Programs begin Monday, January 23, 2012 at The Maritime Training and Education Center at 803 Water St. The Cruise Ship Professional Development Training will acquaint applicants with career opportunities, lifestyle, and the overall work environment aboard cruise ships. “While this training program will address cruise ship jobs, we will also introduce applicants to other career opportunities in the maritime industry, such as working for the Military Sealift Command which moves goods around the world for U.S.

Renee Marazon, CEO, The Maritime Academy of Toledo Foundation, said that applications for people interested in the Cruise Ship Professional Development and STCW Basic Safety Training Programs have been sent out, and that a launch date of  January 16, 2012 for the new programs has been set. In November, The Maritime Foundation received a $25,000 grant from First Energy’s Economic Development Fund through City of Toledo Mayor Michael P. Bell’s administration. “Over the past six weeks we received over 100 requests for information about the two new programs,” said Ms. Marazon. “We completed our development of the qualification and application process. We have met with The Source of Lucas  County so they can help recruit potential applicants.

Renee Marazon, CEO of The Maritime Academy of Toledo Foundation, has announced that The Maritime Foundation has been approved by the U.S. Coast Guard to offer Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW training) effective immediately. The STCW training and certification is required for all mariners. The training includes personal survival, personal and social responsibility, basic first aid, and basic firefighting. Course topics include: Personal Safety and Social Responsibility; Terminology; Accommodations; Safety Management Systems; Drugs and Alcohol; Food; Pollution; Survival; Fall Protection; Confined Spaces; Lock Out/Tag Out…

Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) celebrated the kick off of the Naval Engineering Education Center (NEEC), launching a three-day conference at the University of Michigan, July 26-28. NEEC is a new partnership between NAVSEA and a consortium of 15 top colleges and universities as well as 2 engineering professional societies focused on developing the Navy's future science, engineering and acquisition workforce. “Sailors depend upon you to give them a ship with a technological edge. The NEEC will provide the best minds and training to give the Sailors the technological edge they rely on," said Senator Carl Levin (D-Mich.), the keynote speaker at the Kick-Off event.

The Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers (SNAME) announced that a program dedicated to the training of future naval systems engineers will soon be realized. A $3.2m contract awarded May 6 from the Naval Sea Systems Command, which includes five additional years of optional extensions that could add up to $49.9m, will establish a Naval Engineering Education Center (NEEC) Consortium in partnership with fifteen leading US colleges and universities, SNAME and the American Society of Naval Engineers (ASNE). For over a century SNAME has been the international society for practitioners of the maritime arts and sciences. The Society has long supported educational opportunities to advance the state-of-the-art in naval architecture…

The U.S. Navy's Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) signed a contract agreement May 6 to establish a Naval Engineering Education Center (NEEC). The purpose of the NEEC will be to educate and develop world-class naval systems engineers for the Navy's civilian acquisition, engineering and science workforce. Led by the University of Michigan, the NEEC Consortium will initially be comprised of 15 colleges and universities, along with the American Society of Naval Engineers (ASNE) and the Society of Naval Architects and Engineering (SNAME). Other colleges and universities included in the NEEC Consortium include Virginia Polytechnic Institute…

Marine Mechanics Institute (MMI), a private school specializing in professional marine technician training, is offering an all-new Mertech training program. The first private school training program of its kind to be officially endorsed by Mercury Marine, a global leader in the design and manufacture of marine propulsion products, Mertech is designed to improve the skills of new technicians who complete MMI's core marine technician training programs. To further enhance his/her technical skills and employment opportunities, Merctech offers an entry-level technician the opportunity to become familiar with Mercury products and dealership operations.

Jeppesen Marine has donated its Workboat Navigator software packages to two Seamen’s Church Institute’s (SCI) Centers for Maritime Education for use in mariner training courses. Both the Paducah, Ky. and Houston, Texas facilities received four licenses to run on the installed simulators, plus an additional program for the lab computer. Founded in 1834, SCI’s education facilities provide navigational training to mariners through simulator-based facilities. The Paducah education center is used for training inland mariners, and the Houston facility trains inland, coastal and deep-sea mariners. The institute is recognized by the U.S. government, including Congress, U.S.

The Minerals Management Service (MMS) has awarded a $276,000 grant through the Coastal Impact Assistance Program (CIAP) to Mississippi’s Department of Marine Resources to build a new Marine Education Center in Ocean Springs, Mississippi. This is the first CIAP grant to be awarded since the state’s overall plan was approved in February 2009. The CIAP was created by the Energy Policy Act of 2005. Through the program, MMS will provide $250m in grants annually, from 2007-2010, to six eligible Outer Continental Shelf oil and gas producing states – Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, Alaska, California and Texas. The funding to Mississippi included $30.9m for each of the fiscal years 2007 and 2008 and $23.8m for each of the fiscal years 2009 and 2010.

Obama Administration officials will hold a Gulf Coast Regional Ocean Policy Task Force Public Meeting in New Orleans on Monday, October 19, 2009. The Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force, led by White House Council on Environmental Quality Chair Nancy Sutley, consists of senior-level officials from Administration agencies, departments, and offices. The Task Force, established by President Obama via presidential memorandum on June 12, is charged with developing a recommendation for a national policy that ensures protection, maintenance, and restoration of oceans, our coasts and the Great Lakes. It will also recommend a framework for improved stewardship, and effective coastal and marine spatial planning.

The Minerals Management Service (MMS) announced that it awarded $67m in grants to Alabama, Alaska, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas and their political subdivisions in 2009 through the Coastal Impact Assistance Program (CIAP). Created by the Energy Policy Act of 2005, the CIAP provides funding to the six Outer Continental Shelf oil and gas producing states to mitigate the impacts of energy development on marine and coastal areas. MMS awarded funds to the eligible states in 2009 for 86 projects - Alabama, three; Alaska, 14; Louisiana, 29, Mississippi, 20; and Texas, 20. California’s first grant award is expected in the coming weeks. The majority of the projects focus on conservation…