Holland College to enhance accessibility for marine communication courses with mobile GMDSS lab via VSTEP

 

VSTEP has signed the first commercial agreement for a 1+8 GMDSS Lab with a member of the Canadian Association of Marine Training Institutions (CAMTI), The Marine Training Centre at Holland College located in Summerside, PEI.  

This will enable students and industry professionals studying at Holland College to efficiently learn the full spectrum of terrestrial and radio marine communication removing any physical boundaries of distance.  

Located in Prince Edward Island, Canada, Holland College is the community college that is present at 9 locations. Marine Training Center at Holland College, where the new GMDSS Simulators will be placed, is highly innovative and adheres to exceptionally high-quality standards of instruction. VSTEP provides Holland College with both hardware and software for the GMDSS courses

 

Besides the full range of certifications from Bridge Watch Rating to Master Mariner, and Engine Rating to Chief Engineer, Holland College offers other specialised customisable courses in this field. With GMDSS Simulators, the school aspires to advance its courses and make them more hands-on and insightful.  

Ozan Dermen, Director of Marine Training Centre at Holland College, says, “Working with VSTEP has been a great experience. They make sure that they understand the needs of their customers and modify the product accordingly. A final design that has been tailored to suit the customer’s requirements results in a product that fulfils all the client’s expectations and makes them feel that they are part of the production team from start to finish.” 

As part of the deal, VSTEP provides Holland College with both hardware and software for the GMDSS courses (more on GMDSS Simulators here). VSTEP is proud to be able to help Holland College with two major aspects of their marine communication programs. 

First, one is the curriculum designed in a fashion that enables students to acquire not only theoretical but also practical skills. Students will train in a safe environment where the possible conditions (e.g., device failure, noises, delays, emergencies) resemble the real-life circumstances as close as possible.  

VSTEP GMDSS Simulators

Holland College provides socially distanced marine courses allowing the students to continue with GMDSS training VSTEP’s GMDSS Simulators strictly adhere to the recommendations of the IMO, STCW ’95, ITU, SOLAS and are certified by DNV GL and AMERC. Hence, the simulators train participants to follow key procedures, including but not limited to distress communication, SART, simulation of MF/HF/VHF communication in DSC, urgency and safety information, and reception and transmission of signals. 

Secondly, Holland College is taking an innovative approach to education by creating a GMDSS mobile classroom. Holland College provides socially distanced marine courses which allow their students to continue their GMDSS training despite the current conditions of the pandemic.  

Removing physical barriers

Additionally, targeting people in the industry (e.g., fishery personnel), Holland College recognises the need of removing the physical barriers. Typically, such specialists are scattered across the province, which might impede travelling or make it cumbersome. The school strives to accommodate these target groups by bringing the GMDSS lab to the students when it may prove difficult for them to be physically present at the training locations.  

Authority comment

Stephen Kelly, VSTEP – Senior Business Developer – Americas, mentions, “Ozan and his team had the foresight to anticipate the changes in the maritime training environment and the need to adapt their means of course delivery. With the restrictions imposed by COVID and the natural physical barriers between students and Institutions, Holland College now can bring their world class training to their students directly and safely.“ 

NAUTIS simulators are one of the most advanced maritime simulators available in the market and VSTEP team is always committed to developing the most efficient, innovative and user-friendly maritime simulators, which are not only compliant with industry standards but can also be adapted to comply with local rules and regulations.