CEBU, Philippines - The University of the Visayas-Main Campus and the Det Norske Veritas (DNV) SeaSkill-Singapore yesterday signed an agreement to further enhance Cebu’s maritime education program.
Cebu 1st district Rep. Eduardo Gullas and Dr. Jose R. Gullas, the president and executive vice president of the university, respectively, said the agreement bridges the gap between what the students learned at UV and what the industry requires in terms of performance on board ships.
“UV shall be benchmarked against leading global maritime education training and DNV’s global standards,” Rep. Gullas said.
Rep. Gullas, Dr. Gullas and Capt. Sanjeev Soni of DNV SeaSkill-Singapore signed the agreement at the Office of the Executive Vice President of the university.
Soni said by signing this agreement, UV has demonstrated a huge commitment to bring the quality of facilities and the Maritime Bachelor of Science Programs to world standards.
“This initiative is expected to improve the performance of UV graduates to standards accepted and expected by the maritime industry,” Soni said.
Under the agreement, the DNV will conduct “train the trainers” workshops for selected UV faculty members on course design and development techniques.
DNV will also conduct a thorough study of the requirements of the Philippine Maritime Administration and relevant National maritime bodies to extract the curriculum and competence needs.
Det Norske Veritas is a knowledge-based organization that helps the maritime industry manage risk in all phases of a ship’s life through ship classification, statutory certification, fuel testing and a range of technical, business risk and competency-related services. — Garry B. Lao/BRP (THE FREEMAN)