The Marine Institute has signed a contract with the Indonesian Ministry of Research, Technology and Higher Education for a six week training program that will see 22 instructors and managers from Indonesian polytechnic institutions brought to St. John’s for training.

The program will run from October 13 to November 17, 2017 with 12 participants taking part the  Maritime Safety Program, while 10 people will participate in the Aquaculture Management Program. All of the participants will complete courses in Educational Leadership, Competency Based Education and Training, and Teaching and Learning Online.  

This contract comes after several months of negotiations including discussions in Jakarta between MI and Indonesian Ministry representatives in 2016 and a subsequent fact finding mission to the Marine Institute by senior Indonesian officials. Four representatives from the Indonesian Ministry of Research, Technology and Higher Education visited MI in August, 2017 to explore its facilities and met with leadership, faculty and staff.

“Our project team in MI International are excited to get to work with our Indonesia partners after many months of studying both sectors in the region, conducting in country visits and preparing custom workshops,” said Glenn Blackwood, vice-president, Memorial University (Marine Institute). “It’s gratifying to know our technical advice will be passed on through these instructors to ultimately strengthen the aquaculture and maritime safety sectors in Indonesia.”

This training is part of a larger capacity building initiative for polytechnic institutions in Indonesia.  MI was chosen as one of only a few institutions worldwide to partner with the Indonesian government for this initiative. MI is hopeful that this training program will be the start of long term partnership with the Ministry of Research, Technology and Higher Education in Indonesia.

“MI International has forged many supportive partners in Indonesia in recent years, especially in the aquaculture industry, and we’re committed to making further contributions to sector development there,” said Mr. Blackwood.