Five KOSENs (Toyama, Toba, Hiroshima, Oshima and Yuge colleges), which stand for National Institute of Technology of Japan, train the biggest number of the seafarers in Japan as maritime educational institutes. The feature of the maritime education at KOSEN is the practical education utilizing training ships and training equipment. The students learn technology and skills not only through classroom lectures but through practical training. Only in classrooms, the students tend to focus on learning theoretical knowledge and cannot imagine either authentic things or machines. Students can master technology and skills because they experience their training utilizing the authentic machines while on board. Accordingly, they can associate with theories. The education utilizing the training ships routinely is the strong point of the five KOSENs.
The capabilities and skills required for maritime engineers vary with the rapid progress of the technical innovation and globalization of marine transportation. It is important to grasp these capabilities and skills appropriately and to raise the students who acquire the knowledge, capabilities and skills corresponding to their requirements. This is the reason why the five KOSENs have been collaborating with five maritime organizations, which are The Japanese Shipowners' Association, Japan Maritime Officers' Association, All-Japan Seamen's Union, International Mariners Management Association of Japan, and Japan Agency of Maritime Education and Training for Seafarers, to promote projects to develop more qualified seafarers since 2006. These projects have always been constructing educational systems, which are shared among the five KOSENs teaching maritime technology to improve the students’ quality.
Even now some projects involving global education, career education, generic skill education, and faculty development are performed. This poster will introduce a part of the results of the projects on which the five KOSENs are working while collaborating.