MARIBILIS

Key information  

Improving Maritime Education of Namibia with Double Degree Program of Maritime Engineering and with the Integration of R/V MIRABILIS as a Living Lab (MARIBILIS)

Project Budget: €625 079 MFA funding, total budget €781 348
Project Duration: 1.3.2017–30.3.2020
Coordinating Institution: Satakunta University of Applied Sciences
Partner Institution(s): Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST), Namibia
Affiliate Partners: Namibian Maritime and Fisheries Institute, Namibia

Project description and Key Results 

The MARIBILIS project developed higher education competences in the field of maritime, fisheries and logistics in Namibia.

The aim was to reinforce Namibia’s economy by decreasing the unemployment of young people and generating more job possibilities in the fields of maritime and fisheries nationally and internationally. The project's activities included building a double degree program in maritime engineering.  The double-degree has been implemented and the first students started  the program 1.1.2019.

This project integrated the research vessel R/V MIRABILIS, Republic of Namibia (sold from STX Rauma Finland shipyard to Namibia Republic in 2011), as a living lab environment into the degree program. 

The project also benefitted the Namibian Partners through a training of trainers for NUST personnel and industrial stakeholders with the aim of improving the skills on the service and maintenance of ship electrical and automation systems.

One of the highlights in the project was also to be able to arrange the STCW assessment audit between two countries. It is quite unusual that other country’s Maritime Authorities can go into other country to do the official STCW Assessment Audit.

The MARIBILIS project is a supplement project to continue the work done in Marine Research Capacity Development in Namibia, “MARINAM” project in 2012 – 2015 and Improving the Maritime Education in Namibia – HEI ICI project “MARIBIA” in 2013 – 2015.  

See MARIBILIS' website