Hellenic Marine Environment Protection Association
(HELMEPA), Greece
https://www.helmepa.gr
The Hellenic Marine Environment Protection Association (HELMEPA) is a non-governmental, non-profit organisation founded in 1982 by Greek seafarers and ship-owners, expressing their mission “To Save the Seas” and safeguard the seas from ship-generated pollution. To date, HELMEPA has evolved into an open, pro-active and participatory platform that raises environmental awareness, promotes volunteerism and collective action, staying for more than 4 decades in the front line of the struggle for the protection of the marine environment, the promotion of safety at sea and sustainability. Its community counts 2.300+ vessels of all types, 337 maritime companies and organisations from the maritime ecosystem, and 14.000+ seafarers.
HELMEPA’s aim is to develop and nurture an environmental consciousness within shipping, by informing and educating the human element, “from ship-owner to seafarer”. HELMEPA supports the efforts of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) for “Safe Ships in Clean Seas” as Technical Advisor to the Greek Delegation, and has established long-standing collaborations with maritime entities such as: EMSA, United States Coast Guard (USCG), Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA), REMPEC, BIMCO, INTERTANKO, INTERCARGO, Rightship, Green Award Foundation, Seatrade and Posidonia Exhibitions.
At national level, HELMEPA has a longstanding cooperation with the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Island Policy, the Union of Greek Shipowners, the Panhellenic Seamen’s Federation, the Hellenic Chamber of Shipping, the Hellenic Bureau for Marine Casualties Investigation, the Hellenic Institute of Marine Technology, WISTA Hellas and many others.
HELMEPA’s Certified Maritime Training Centre for Pollution Prevention, Safety at Sea and Environmental Awareness, offers to the members of the Association training programmes adapted to their needs. On an annual basis, approximately 40 seminars and webinars are delivered, attended to date by more than 27,000 merchant marine officers and companies’ shore-based personnel, supported as well by an e-learning platform. Additionally, HELMEPA offers its members training at the Centre’s Full Mission Bridge Simulator, kindly donated by Associate Corporate Member DNV.
Besides its activity on the maritime field, HELMEPA is established as a trustworthy organisation in the Greek educational community and civil society. Over the past 40 years, more than 586.000 youth and 8.640 teachers in 4.214 schools throughout Greece, have been engaged in HELMEPA’s activities towards protecting the marine environment, thus promoting Goal 14 of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Moreover, HELMEPA Scholarships have been continuously implemented since 1998, offering the opportunity to 56 young scientists to continue their postgraduate studies in maritime and environmental sciences, contributing to the creation of executives with a solid scientific basis in the fields of Shipping, Environment and Education, rewarding excellence and supporting economically disadvantaged students.
Also, HELMEPA holds a significant expertise in launching awareness campaigns. The association has coordinated 4,200 coastal and seabed clean-ups in cooperation with its member
companies, schools, local authorities, port authorities, diving centres, cultural and sports clubs and environmental organisations, having collected totally 850 tonnes of litter, on coastlines reaching the length of 2.500km. As a Partner of the United Nations Mediterranean Action Plan (UNEP/MAP) since 1985, it has also supported the adoption of the Mediterranean Strategy for Sustainable Development and Marine Litter Management, based on the principles of the circular economy. In fact, HELMEPA is the national coordinator (for 33 years) of the World Voluntary Coastal Clean-up, the largest voluntary event of its kind in the world, counting over 15 million volunteers worldwide.
The famous HELMEPA’s patented “Seagull” has been at the forefront of public campaigns and TV spots for more than 3 decades, and has become a strong symbol of the effort for “Clean and Plastic-free Seas and Beaches” in Greece. Between 2010-2020, with the support of Lloyd’s Register Foundation HELMEPA organized awareness raising campaigns on the Marine Environment, Shipping and Science in 32 coastal cities and islands in Greece, reaching out to approximately 35,000 youth and teachers. The Association’s cooperation with local entities, municipalities, the educational community and key stakeholders, has created resilient networks, resulting in social innovation projects promoting sustainability.
Finally, HELMEPA has supported the establishment of similar non-governmental, non-profit associations (MEPAs) in: Australia – AUSMEPA, Cyprus – CYMEPA, North America – NAMEPA, Nigeria – NIMEPA, Ukraine – UKRMEPA, Uruguay – URUMEPA, Turkey — TURMEPA and the Philippines – PHILMEPA, Ukraine – UKRMEPA, and Uruguay – URUMEPA, working together under the umbrella of the International Union for the Protection of the Marine Environment – INTERMEPA. (www.intermepa.org).
Sea Teach S.L., Spain
http://www.sea-teach.com
Sea Teach S.L. is an SME, operating as both a Sea School and a Charter Agency since 1999 in the touristic “hotspot” of the Balearic Islands. It is also a regional VET and Adult Education Centre with students from many different EU Countries over the age of 18 years. The school is authorized to examine and award certification to students who successfully complete the course(s). The principal and the school chief instructor is Michael John.
Through Erasmus+ supported projects, Sea Teach has succeeding in tackling problems the company encountered in its daily operations, including:
- Awareness raising and proposing a core curriculum system as solution for the problem of non-recognition of qualification of professional skippers across Europe. The TCC Core Curriculum was supported in 2016 by the European Parliament as a Preparatory Action.
- Improving the career prospective of low-skilled workers and seasonal tourism workers through the development of new assessment tools for the validation of informal transversal skills. The first VALITS Validation tool has been recognized and used by national employment agencies in Spain and Austria.
- Supporting maritime professionals to change from offshore employment to onshore employment by assessing and documenting their skills portfolio of informal transversal skills and formal skills and suggesting valid new career pathways.
- Developing maritime training curricula and specialist courses where skills gaps were identified.
- Inspiring young people between 15 and 29 years, who are NEETs or endangered of becoming NEETs, to find training or jobs in the Blue Economy, which is urgently looking for young staff. For this reason Sea Teach initiated the project BlueGeneration in 2018, which is funded by the EEA and Norway grants and brings together 10 partners with the aim to promote the Blue Economy to over 40.000 youths of a period of 5 years.
Sea Teach has a wide professional network on local, regional, national, and European level. At local level, Sea Teach is active in the nautical association of entrepreneurs AENIB, which represents over 200 nautical businesses in the Balearic Islands. Sea Teach, also, has close ties and a regular work relationship with the national association of nautical businesses, ANEN. Through both associations Sea Teach exchanges regularly experiences on entrepreneurship and on the developments in the sector. At European level, Sea Teach works closely with the European umbrella association EBI (European Boating Association) that represents the sector on a European level and has regular contacts within the DG Mare. Michael John is one of 40 nominated experts in the “expert group on skills and career development in the blue economy” that advises the DG Mare regarding skills gaps, skills validation, curricula and policy requirements.
Universitat Politecnica De Catalunya (UPC), Spain
http://www.upc.edu
The Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya · BarcelonaTech (UPC) is a public institution dedicated to higher education and research, specialized in the fields of engineering, architecture, and science. The UPC puts its scientific and technological infrastructure at the service of research groups and centres, researchers and students, professionals, companies, and institutions. In a highly creative context, the UPC’s research, teaching and management projects are based on the principles of freedom, justice, democracy, solidarity, cooperation, sustainability, efficiency, transparency, and social responsibility, while they reflect the University’s commitment to the environmental change.
With a focus on intellectual rigor, critical thinking, a transversal approach to knowledge, educational innovation and entrepreneurship, the UPC produces competent professionals with the skills required to tackle present and future challenges. The activity that goes on at UPC campuses and schools has made the University a benchmark institution. The University harnesses the potential of basic and applied research, and transfers technology and knowledge to society. These actions make the UPC— in partnership with the productive fabric — an agent and driver of economic and social change.
The objectives of the UPC are based on internationalization, as it is Spain’s technical university with the highest number of international PhD students and Spain’s university with the highest number of international master’s degree students. An appealing range of educational programs has positioned the University as a welcoming place for the exchange of knowledge, with more than 2,000 foreign students from all over the world enrolling each year. It is also home to more strategic research projects funded by the European Union’s Seventh Framework Program than any other Spanish university. Today, the University is characterized by a purposefully open stance towards international students, a wide selection of master’s degree programs in English, participation in the European Institute of Innovation and Technology and various international research programs, as well as a consolidated line of worldwide cooperation activities that serve as tools for change and social progress.
The Barcelona Nautical Faculty is the oldest Nautical Faculty of Spain with more than 250 years old. This faculty has a large experience in the building of all kind of ships and nowadays is working and researching on the Maritime Autonomous Surface Ship-MASS.
Militos Consulting SA, Greece
https://www.militos.org
Militos Consulting S.A. is a unique, dynamic, and innovative 360 consultancy firm, with a strong European profile, international experience, and many distinctions in the provision of integrated and ground-breaking consultancy services in a wide spectrum of fields, including Skills Empowerment, Education, Vocational Education and Training (VET), Entrepreneurship Education, Communication, Community Building and Awareness Measures, Event Management, Social Innovation, and Culture. With a track record of 60 EU-funded projects and activities, as leader or partner, Militos has sound experience in project management of large-scale and complex projects as well as in depth understanding of European policies. Militos has expertise in the conceptualisation, development, and operation of new and sustainable entrepreneurship schemes, train-the-trainer methodologies across all areas, and interactive e-learning tools.
Militos holds extensive experience and expertise in mobilising communities, building and activating networks, designing, managing, and implementing demanding events and largescale campaigns and is well known for the smart, inventive, high aesthetic, and quality material it produces (logos, leaflets, banners, website mock-ups, vortals, videοs, online games, teasers for social media, interactive blogs, etc). It is the first choice as Communication and Dissemination Consultant for enterprises and (European) bodies, such as the European Commission Representation in Greece (Exclusive Communication & Campaigning Consultant), European Parliament Information Office in Greece (External Consultant), European Commission Standard Eurobarometer for Greece (National Editor), DG Enterprise and Industry (Intermediary Organisation for ERASMUS Young Entrepreneurs & Coordinator of the European Network of Mentors for Women Entrepreneurs).
Nikola Vaptsarov Naval Academy, Bulgaria
http://www.naval-acad.bg
The Nikola Vaptsarov Naval Academy (NVNA), situated in Varna is the only higher education institution in Bulgaria for the maritime officers and managers, both civilian and military. It delivers 3-cycle study programmes in the field of maritime transportation, management and security & defence. The Bulgarian Naval Academy has about 3,500 students overall and a professional teaching and research staff. Scientific research is focused on all areas of the maritime industry, thus including the maritime/naval leadership topics.
Since 1992, NVNA educates civilian students as officers for the Merchant Marine. The education is performed by highly qualified and talented lecturers, adaptable to the dynamics of the intensive educational process and research work. The curriculum complies with the strict requirements of IMO (International Maritime Organization). The Naval Academy received the first program accreditation of its main specialties in 1998 and in 2000 it was included in the IMO “White List” as an academy with approved maritime education. In 2000 the Nikola Vaptsarov Naval Academy became a founder and a regular member of the International association of Maritime Universities (IAMU), the National Oceanographic Committee – a member of the intergovernmental oceanographic committee of UNESCO, as well as of the Business Incubator of High Technologies, Varna.
The education is conducted in two Faculties (Navigation and Engineering) and in the Department for Post-Graduate Qualification in the following specialties: Navigation, Ship Power Plants, Electrical Engineering, Shipboard Radioelectronics, Shipping and Port Management, Technology of Ship Repairs in the form regular and part-time studies. Furthermore, the Naval Academy provides development of skills in “Naval research centre”, “Centre for career development “, “Centre for training ship brokers and agents” run by the Charter Brokers’ Institute, London. The contacts and business-like connections with partnering higher schools and organizations in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions are long-standing. Within the framework of ERASMUS+, the Naval Academy participates in teachers’ and students’ exchanges.
In April 2010, the Naval Academy together with another five higher education institutions around the Black Sea founded the Black Sea Association of Maritime Institutions (BSAMI) in order to become responsible as a team to further evolve as major global centre for the highest quality training of maritime human resources through knowledge, innovation and implementation towards the future. In 2014 NVNA was audited by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism of Japan and the NVNA was recognized as a certified institution in their System of Recognition for Maritime Education and Training Institutions. In addition, in 2015 NVNA was audited successfully by EMSA. In 2019, NVNA was awarded second place in the ranking of maritime universities of IAMU.
R&DO Limited, Cyprus
https://www.rndo.eu
R&Do, based in Cyprus, researches, designs, develops and manages integrated ICT solutions, web-based applications, and enterprise software systems. The company specialises in educational online platforms, and, in particular, it fosters the skill development of young and adult learners, contributes to vocational training for increasing employability, promote growth and innovation, support different sectors with a focus on entrepreneurship, soft skills, and ICT sector. R&DO is also a direct partner to various co-funded European projects, including the Lifelong Learning Projects Farm inc., Taxistars, Core-VET, High Heels, and Pest Practice. It is also the main responsible for e-learning platforms and integrated websites in Erasmus+ projects, such as Intraprise, Rooms to VET, Succession, SocialUp, and the WineLab.
R&Do team is formed by Senior Developers and Web designers and is well known for their high quality work and forward thinking. The company aims to the continuous development and commercialisation of innovative ideas in the form of products and services, mainly based on ICT.