A proposal on the mechatronics education for marine engineering programs

ABSTRACT

The study investigates marine engineering education on ship mechatronics systems regarding the new technologies in the maritime transportation industry. A new course plan about mechatronics is proposed for maritime education which lasts 14 weeks and 3 hours per week by benchmarking the global maritime colleges and respecting the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW). Competences at the STCW amendments for the people who work on ships are considered while preparing the courses. Each course is paired with basic and advanced training competencies of the STCW amendments, compliance with the STCW is provided, the course topics are explained, and the duration of the courses is determined. The need for updating the curriculum and the training of future marine engineers is crucial for satisfying their ability to operate new ships. This study highlights the need for novel approaches and courses regarding the new future technologies for the conventional marine engineering curriculum.

Highlights

• Reviews the state-of-the-art ship mechatronics systems.

• Analyse the global marine engineering curriculums.

• Reviews the STCW demands in mechatronics systems for marine engineers.

• Proposes courses on mechatronics that are required for marine engineers.

KEYWORDS:

• Ship mechatronics systems
• marine engineering curriculum
• mechatronics education
• new course proposal
• mechatronics course plan

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Omer Berkehan Inal

Omer Berkehan Inal, PhD, is Researcher at the Marine Engineering Department of Maritime Faculty, Istanbul Technical University. His research areas are alternative marine fuels, hydrogen fuel, hybrid propulsion and energy efficiency on ships. He was awarded 'The Most Successful Dissertation Thesis Award' in 2022 by Istanbul Technical University.

Gazi Kocak

Gazi Kocak, PhD, is an Associated Professor at the Marine Engineering Department of Maritime Faculty, Istanbul Technical University. His research areas are mechatronics systems, electrical and electronical systems onboard ships.