The student training system at the department is fully aligned with the State Educational Standards of Ukraine, the requirements of the competence-based approach, as well as the international standards of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), including IMO Model Courses, and the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW) and Code, as amended.
Registry of the Department’s Academic Disciplines
Following the merger, the department ensures a comprehensive cycle of professional training (theoretical, practical, and simulator-based) in the following key areas:
- Navigation and Voyage Planning: Navigation and Pilotage; Astronomical Navigation Methods; Navigational Information Systems.
- Ship Handling and Seamanship: Ship Handling; Theory and Practice of Ship Maneuvering; Seamanship.
- Ship Theory and Construction: Ship Theory and Construction; Ensuring Ship Seaworthiness.
- Safety, Ecology, and Legal Regulation: IMO Conventions and Regulatory Documents; IMO Standards and Shipboard Security Measures; Rules and Regulations of Classification Societies; Ecology and Environmental Protection; Prevention of Marine Pollution (in accordance with MARPOL).
- Hydrometeorology and Operations: Meteorology and Oceanography; Hydrometeorological Support for Navigation.
- Bridge Resource Management and Simulator Training: Bridge Resource Management (BRM); Crew Organization and Management; Simulator Training for Heavy Lift Cargo Transportation.
- Collision Avoidance and Radionavigation: International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREG-1972) and the Use of Radar and Automatic Radar Plotting Aids (ARPA) for Vessel Collision Avoidance.
- Scientific and Specialized Components: Mathematical Statistics and Theoretical Foundations of Navigation; Modern Methods of Experimental Research and Data Processing; Preparation for Port State Control Inspections (elective course).
Quality Assurance and Learning Enhancement Tools
The quality of the educational process and the objectivity of assessment are ensured through the Academy’s comprehensive quality management system and include the following elements:
- Monitoring and Objective Control: Development and continuous updating of a unified database of examination tasks, interactive tests, and computer-based testing. This ensures reliable feedback, determines the compliance of students’ knowledge with the requirements of educational levels, and allows for prompt adjustments to the learning process.
- Digitalization and LMS Moodle: Maintenance and high-quality content management of personal pages for all disciplines based on the Moodle distance learning platform. A complete educational and methodological complex (textbooks, guidelines, lecture notes, multimedia materials) is accumulated here for effective independent work of students and Lifelong Learning.
- Modern Information Technologies: Integration of the latest specialized software, multimedia learning tools, and training simulators into daily lecture and practical sessions.
- Professional Exchange of Experience: Regular participation of the faculty and teaching staff in annual national and international scientific and methodological conferences aimed at exchanging advanced pedagogical experience and implementing new blended learning mechanisms.
Practical Training: Institute of Master Classes
An essential component of training future navigators is the transfer of real-world industry experience. On a regular basis, the department organizes specialized master classes on the most relevant topics of modern navigation.
Active Ocean Captains (Masters) are involved in conducting these classes:
- Tovstokoryi O.M. – PhD in Technical Sciences, Associate Professor;
- Makarchuk D.V. – PhD in Technical Sciences, Associate Professor;
- Mamenko P.P. – PhD, Associate Professor;
- Dudchenko S.V. – PhD;
- Bezkrovnyi V.O. – Senior Lecturer;
- Zhmur V.M. – Senior Lecturer;
- Zolotorenko V.F. – Senior Lecturer;
- Isaichev A.G. – Senior Lecturer;
- Kozachek V.M. – Senior Lecturer;
- Kolesnyk O.O. – Senior Lecturer;
- Lytovchenko V.I. – Senior Lecturer.
Information Transparency of the Department
To ensure prompt access for students and colleagues to the educational ecosystem, the following materials are updated on an ongoing basis on the department’s information boards and directly on the Moodle platform:
- Schedules of classes, faculty consultations, and examination sessions.
- Plans for conducting open classes and innovative master classes.
- Work and mentorship programs for young teachers to ensure the continuity of academic traditions.