EDUCATING THE FUTURE MARITIME WORKFORCE IN A SEA OF CONSTANT DISRUPTERS AND CHANGE

This paper considers how technological change, and the rate of that change, will impact maritime education and training and our graduates. Changes in technology, the environment, the regulatory picture and globalization represent a more complex array of forces for our students to understand than ever before. Students can no longer assume that acquired technical skills will serve the demands of their rapidly changing workplaces. These changes and challenges require maritime universities to elevate our academic programs, ensure our curricula remain relevant, and provide our students with tools and adaptive skill sets they will need to become life-long learners. This will require maritime universities to conduct an "environmental scan" of the world and environments in which they operate, and interpret relevant external factors and trends. As an example, the author provides a scan of the maritime industry, its impact on maritime education and training programs, and recommendations on how maritime universities can adapt in an age of "accelerated change."