On June 13-14, 2023, the first focus group entitled “Analysis of Teaching Approaches and Teaching Materials” was held in Riga at Riga Technical University, Latvian Maritime Academy, as one of the activities of the MareLaw project.
The main objective of the project is to improve and harmonise elements of the maritime law curriculum in according to the STCW convention in the involved partner universities in the maritime field. Today International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers 1978 (STCW convention) is in force in 167 countries (the combined merchant fleets of which constitute approximately 98.91% of the gross tonnage of the world’s merchant fleet).
During the two days of the meeting, members of the project team from the University of Split, Technical University of Catalunya and Riga Technical University discussed the current state of approaches to the course content and teaching materials for the maritime law courses taught according to the STCW Convention. In addition, the differences and similarities were identified, as well as ways to improve the approaches to the teaching of the courses and teaching materials. The results of the meeting will be used as a direct input for the organisation of the second focus group in July 2023 in Split, whose goal will be to analyse and improve the learning outcomes of the courses. In addition, the results will serve as a starting point for the development of the teaching materials for maritime law courses within this project.