NMU Network Vision

To create a collaborative network of universities, institutions, maritime industry, and related organisations.

To enhance the European maritime business sector by delivering teaching and qualifications that correspond to the industry’s needs and expectations.

To develop a joint curriculum of maritime, port and short sea shipping (SSS) related teaching modules.

To educate and train forward thinking professionals in the maritime and port industry.

The central objective of the NMU project is to establish a sustainable collaboration between industry and educational institutions to enhance the innovation capacity of the maritime industry in the North Sea Region.

During the development phases, the project "Northern Maritime University" aims to:

Strengthen the maritime business sector and to increase its capacity for innovation within the North Sea Region

Contribute significantly to enhance the innovation capacities of the maritime industry in providing multidisciplinary qualification offerings

Exploit the likely future growth potential in the fields of short sea shipping (SSS), port operations and global maritime transport and related industries (e.g. logistics services)

Strengthen the competitiveness of the industry and services sector and to step up efforts in the areas of industrial policy and the service market

Contribute to sustainable development of the growing maritime transport business sector especially in terms of environmental protection

Strengthen the competitiveness of the European education industry in the maritime business sector in comparison to global competitors and removing obstacles for labour, academic and student mobility

Northern Maritime University (NMU) network works to:

Build up the NMU as a strong transnational network of universities in the North Sea Region (NSR);
Integrate potential beneficiaries into the network (i.e. international and SME shipping companies, port authorities, logistics operators, etc.) to verify qualification needs for business innovation, to enhance the design of educational programmes and to provide continuous evaluation of the NMU qualification portfolio;
Carry out a transnational stakeholder study on qualification and policy needs and on this basis to make policy recommendations to foster innovation in the maritime business sector in the NSR at all corporate level (esp. SMEs);
Develop a common NMU product and service portfolio based upon a flexible framework that facilitates a modular approach and, once tested, to extend these offerings to partner regions through pooling existing programme and qualification content and teachers, enhancing the content according to the needs of stakeholders, making the content easily accessible with regard to language and administrative issues, offering a range of a maritime business related modules, degrees and awards and applying e-learning methods that enable the lifelong learning of recipients;
Realise a pilot test with learners from the participating universities and companies from the NSR for the purpose of evaluation and in preparation for the full-blown market entry;
Build a nucleus of skills; experience, competences and infrastructure for undertaking common research projects in the maritime sector and to also advise and enable governments, institutions, and other public sector organisations to take forward policy decisions by offering expert panels and Foresight exercises;
Create a knowledge cluster which disposes a fluid mix of framed experience, value, contextual information, and expert insights that provides a framework for evaluating, incorporating and anticipating developments in the maritime business sector.