While the voting procedure for the 2019 SMART4SEA Awards is open, Mr. Nikolaos Stefanis, Key Support Manager at Kongsberg Maritime, Hellas talks about company’s training solutions for which Kongsberg Maritime AS, has been shortlisted in the ‘Training Category’ alongside other distinguished nominees. Mr. Stefanis notes that training needs to follow developments and align with latest rules, needs and technologies. Digitalization and automation in shipping are the emerging challenges for seamen, thus industry needs new tools and adapt training to new reality. As such, it is important to focus on the new needs with new technology solutions in order to provide efficient training experience, Mr Stefanis concludes.
SAFETY4SEA: Your organization has been shortlisted for the 2018 SMART4SEA Awards in the ‘Training’ category alongside a number of other distinguished nominees. What would you like to share with industry’s stakeholders with respect to this development?
Nikolaos Stefanis: We are very proud to be nominees in Training category of SMART4SEA awards for 2019. Kongsberg is committed to develop and offer high quality of services in shipping worldwide. Training has proved to be an important factor in shipping industry and Kongsberg develops and offers high level of training in a wide range of products in order to make shipping operation more stable and safe.
S4S: What are the key challenges surrounding the training of seafarers today?
N.S.: Shipping Rules and technology change rapidly nowadays. Training solutions have to be aligned with latest international shipping rules and needs. It is a continue effort to follow all these changes and keep on covering all needs. Equipment should follow new technologies applied on board and instructors to maintain high level skills following recent developments.
S4S: In what way do you believe training needs to be developed in order to keep up with industry’s dynamic environment and technological developments?
N.S.: Digitalization and automation in shipping more and more of the shipping life and different or improved seaman duties coming up. Focus on the new needs with new technology solutions in order to provide efficient training experience based on modern shipping. New technology should be our partner in developing high quality courses and provide all benefits to shipping personnel.
S4S: How training in shipping could be developed to meet the needs of Generation Z?
N.S.: New generation has grown in a totally digital environment with different capabilities as well as different needs. Taking this into consideration, training should adopt new ways of providing all possible benefits and meet all these new needs. Artificial Intelligent, Data digitalization, new possibilities of remote training, cloud platforms and services, all these tools have to be adopted and create training adapted to new facts.
S4S: What is your key message to the industry stakeholders with respect to the future of maritime training?
N.S.: As shipping continues to be number one in the global trade and transport, there is always a need of well-trained seamen to run these vessels all over the world. Technology evolution is here and training considered as “must have” to be able to operate with safety, eliminate risk of accident and be able to respond to any event. Kongsberg Maritime aims to keep on being a leader in shipping industry and training is an integral part of it. We will continue to offer high quality of training solutions and keep developing new ones, based on current and future needs.
You may cast your vote for Kongsberg Maritime at 2019 SMART4SEA Awards dedicated webpage till 21st of December 2018!
The views presented hereabove are only those of the author and not necessarily those of SAFETY4SEA and are for information sharing and discussion purposes only.