Exploring the Current Practices and Future Needs of Marine Engineering Education in Bangladesh

Abstract

Developing countries, despite being the major suppliers of maritime manpower, lag in their future-proof competence development. This study explores whether the current maritime education and training (MET) practices for marine engineering education in a developing nation are perceived as sufficient by the early-stage marine engineers. The current competence requirements set by the Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW’74 as amended) are compared and contrasted against the current MET practices as well as the future needs for remotely controlled autonomous ship operations. Bangladesh, a maritime nation in the Southeast Asia region was selected as a developing nation for this study. An online survey was conducted among early-stage professional marine engineers. The analysis of 62 valid responses revealed that current MET practices are significantly perceived to be satisfactory for acquiring non-technical competencies, such as being proficient in the English language, but are less satisfactory for instilling technical competencies such as of electrical and electronics, knowledge regarding seaworthiness of ships, as well as medical first aid. In addition, the findings highlight the perceived gaps in existing marine engineering education as well as the need for future studies focused on re-training the future maritime workforce that could potentially improve MET strategies and practices in the developing nations.