MARLEANET: A transregional project for the creation of an Atlantic maritime training network

Introduction
MARitime LEArning NETwork (MARLEANET) is a European project aimed at both interconnecting maritime training centres of the Atlantic Area within a network and meeting the training needs of the maritime community.

Methods
The MARLEANET project is co-financed by the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) within the framework of the Atlantic Area program. The Université de Bretagne Occidentale is a French university with acknowledged expertise in the marine field : since 1997, in collaboration with the Société Française de Médecine Maritime [French Society of Maritime Medicine] it has been offering specific courses leading to the university degree in Maritime Medicine.

Results
i) Adapt the skills of the crew community to the needs within the Atlantic area, ii) contribute to the sustainability of the services offered to seamen across the world, iii) create a distance-learning device suitable to meet the training requirements of a range of maritime staff, in particular seamen, while taking into account technical means and availability, iv) develop training programmes meeting new teaching requirements and dedicated to the public and private sectors, maritime companies as well as institutions, and v) improve the political issues through capitalization of work feedback so as to draw up good practice guidelines.

Discussion
Today in the Atlantic Area, a maritime training-related network is obviously missing despite its key-interest for the regions and the major economic sector constituted by maritime transport. The project will support the development of this network through networking activities as well as a very concrete common pilot project: an e-learning platform for mutualised and harmonized training courses.
Conclusion:
The proposed courses combine classroom-based learning and e-learning (on board or at home) and are dedicated to various groups of trainees (merchant navy, fishermen, public bodies, marine companies), to update their courses to better meet the training needs of the maritime world.