News

A new maritime education forum established in Turku
03.12.2014

A new maritime education forum has been established in Turku. The forum operates as a centralised channel for enterprises to communicate education-related needs and development ideas to educational actors and institutions. The objective is to ensure that the educational system is able to respond and adapt to the future developments of the maritime cluster and the changing needs of the industry as efficiently and effectively as possible.

Turku is a locus of both maritime industry and education. For this reason, it is important to invest in the continuous development of competences and expertise as well as to ensure the availability of skilled employees in the labour market.

Development activities of the maritime cluster are currently conducted by a broad collaborative network consisting of company representatives, actors from the educational sector, and other stakeholders. Communication and collaboration with enterprises have indicated a clear need to strengthen education-related coordination between the network actors.

The maritime education forum advances the effectiveness and visibility of maritime and metal education, and strives to motivate prospective students to careers in these occupational and professional fields. The forum will also complement regional abilities and capacity to forecast educational needs. Furthermore, the forum will have a central role in developing new educational solutions as well as in strengthening co-operation between companies and educational institutes.

The forum consists of representatives from vocational institutes for both young people and adults, including also those universities of applied sciences with educational programmes in marine technology and maritime studies in the region of Turku. Other members comprise of representatives from central stakeholder organisations. Maritime innovation hub Meridiem continues to act as a centre for university and higher education co-operation in maritime research, development, education, and innovation activities.

In addition to its founding members, the forum will also be open to other stakeholders. Similarly, although the forum will initially consist of members from the region of Turku, participation in and the focus of its activities are not regionally limited.

The forum is coordinated by Machine Technology Center Turku Ltd. Its current members are:

Iiro Isaksson, Turku Adult Education Centre
Mikko Hauninen, Turku Vocational Institute
Lauri Kosomaa, Turku University of Applied Sciences
Eija Velin, University of Turku, Centre for Maritime Studies
Per-Olof Karlsson, Aboa Mare
Christiane Ala-Nissilä, Turun suomalainen yhteiskoulu/Merilukio
Martti Rantala, Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment in Southwest Finland
Esa Högblom, Regional Council of Southwest Finland
Jari Kramsu, The Finnish Metalworkers’ Union
Teppo Virta, The Federation of Finnish Technology Industries
Markku Wuoti, The Federation of Finnish Enterprises
Vesa Eskonen, Meyer Turku Oy
Mika Helva, City of Turku
Erkki Virkki, Machine Technology Center Turku Ltd.
Pentti Häkkinen, Machine Technology Center Turku Ltd.
Juha Valtanen, Machine Technology Center Turku Ltd.

For more information, please contact:

Juha Valtanen, Koneteknologiakeskus Turku Oy, tel : +358 50 5623 442,
juha.valtanen[at]koneteknologiakeskus.fi