Maritime College embarks on global promotion trail
Joe Dermody learns about the facilities available at the high-tech Maritime College in Cork.
THE National Maritime College of Ireland (NMCI) is attracting an increasingly international clientele, and gaining a growing reputation as a world leader in its highly specialised field.
The excellence of the NMCI lecturers and the facilities is such that private and public maritime organisations send their personnel from every corner of the globe to be trained here. And little wonder they do.
Established just four years ago at a cost of €52m, the NMCI, located in Ringaskiddy in Cork, has facilities which are the envy of maritime colleges all over the world.
Features include 19 high tech bridges which simulate navigation of every port in the world, an environment pool to train emergency search and rescue, engine rooms, state-of-the-art research facilities and a fleet of training craft.
New commercial division
Naturally, the NMCI also attracts the leading maritime training personnel. The latest key addition has been Conor Mowlds, manager of NMCI Services, the new commercial division which will promote the college’s services globally. He leaves the Irish Maritime Development Office, where he held a similar commercial role for the past four years.
“I would stress that we are looking after Ireland’s national requirements first and foremost,” says Mr Mowlds. “We have a strategic training function to provide cadets for the Irish Naval Service, the Coastguard, the RNLI and the Irish shipping industry, and training in everything from firefighting to personal survival and helicopter escape training. That role is very important to the State.
"Nonetheless, in two years from now the college will have gone through a major evolution. Ireland has a great reputation globally for producing excellent naval officers, and the NMCI has developed a deserved reputation as the number one maritime college in Europe, and arguably the world.
"We are now capitalising on that reputation, expanding into R&D, developing new skill sets and moving up the value chain. While some industries in Ireland are suffering, the maritime sector is still growing; it is not exposed to the global downturn.
"We will be delivering our services to a global industry, working with companies in the UK, central Europe, Singapore and Asia. There is a global shortage of seafarers, perhaps as many as 10,000. We will look to form strategic partnerships with industry to build on capacity and enhance our course provision with bespoke programmes. We will put new structures in place and aggressively promote the college on a global basis."
It's all about partnership
The partnership approach will be nothing new to those at the NMCI. The college was created as a public-private partnership. Its public partners are the Cork Institute of Technology (CIT) and the Irish Naval Service (INS).
The private partner is Focus Education, a consortium comprising Bovis Lend Lease and Bank of Scotland (a division of Halifax Bank of Scotland Group). The college was designed and built by Bovis Lend Lease working with BDP Architects and Pierse Contracting. It will be operated for 25 years by Vita Lend Lease, the facilities management subsidiary of Lend Lease.
“Up to now, we have been focused on delivering training, but in future we will also develop our research skills,” notes Mr Mowlds.
“Seventeen of the world’s leading blue-chip companies come to Ringaskiddy to attend our courses. We will be delivering more bespoke courses in the future.”
As well as its core cadet courses, the NMCI also offers programmes in related areas such as maritime banking and law. IFSC-based companies such as Bank of Ireland Finance and Ulster Bank have divisions devoted to the maritime sector, primarily focused on financing the purchase of new ships.
NMCI head of college John Clarence sees the commercial focus as a natural extension to the training expertise developed over the past four years.
“We are working on commercial expansion as part of the managerial organisation of the college,” said Mr Clarence. “We are going out to industry, promoting our services, and they are also coming to us requesting bespoke courses. Commercial considerations are a very important part of our work, which is why Conor Mowlds has been brought in. We will be rolling out a number of new courses to our customers in the very near future.”
The NMCI also recently created a new partnership with Cork-based technology company Avalon Voice & Data to manage and develop the college’s ICT infrastructure. Under this five-year €750,000 contract, Avalon will manage the phones, computers and other ICT infrastructure for the college’s near 300 network users.
Avalon and the NMCI will jointly develop tech-based learning programmes such as simulated navigation training, and develop new conferencing facilities geared to attract Cork harbour-based business.
“Pilots come from all over the world to use the college’s simulator,” says Kevin O’Regan, Avalon Voice & Data’s director of corporate business development. “NMCI wants to develop a database of global ports to simulate and train pilots to navigate their way into any port in the world.
“We will also create an online database for all syllabuses and data used by lecturers, which will be a big step up from individuals leaving their notes in their drawers. We will also develop conferencing facilities which can be hired out to the college’s business neighbours.”
John Clarence, head of NMCI, intends to invest in and develop technology infrastructure to enhance the college’s services.
He said: "We are delighted to work with Avalon to develop and expand the IT infrastructure at the college. It is important to any college to embrace the technologies which will support the learning process, both within Ireland and internationally."
