The University of Telecommunications and Posts is the first Bulgarian university to coordinate a project under the Erasmus 2027 action ‘Capacity building in higher education’. The HEI is a leading partner in the Green Maritime Horizons project launched on 1 December 2024: Collaborative Innovation in Ship Engineering and Sustainable Technologies (GEMS-TECH) for cooperation in maritime higher education and the sustainable development of the maritime sector, in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals and international environmental standards. The project envisages the exchange of good practices and the modernisation of maritime higher education in Egypt and Kenya, in partnership with European universities and professional organisations, and the introduction of innovations in maritime governance.
The project is worth €793,000 and will have a duration of 36 months.
UTP partners at GEMS-TECH are the University of Zagreb (Croatia), the Tallinn University of Technology (Estonia), the University of Aegean (Greece), En Shams University (Egypt), the Arab Academy of Science, Technology and Maritime Transport (Egypt), the University of Agriculture and Technology Jomo from Kenya, the Technical University of Mombasa (Kenya), the Lake Victoria Basin Commission based in Kenya, the Arab Institute of Navigation (Egypt) and the non-governmental organisations Creative Thinking and Development (Greece) and the Institute of Technology Transfer and Innovation (Bulgaria).
The project provides 4 modules: Governance, Curriculum Modernisation, Deep Open Online Courses (MOOC), Dissemination and Sustainability of Results.
The ambitious GEMS-TECH project aims to renew maritime education in Egypt and Kenya by fully integrating sustainable maritime practices and green technologies into higher education. The project will create and implement new multidisciplinary modules for sustainable marine solutions to modernise existing courses to meet global environmental trends and the needs of the maritime sector. GEMS-TECH aims to bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical application by improving the competences of academic staff and the skills of students in the field of sustainable marine technologies, promoting the next generation of professionals from the maritime sector.
Academic institutions and maritime industry stakeholders will form a lasting partnership to promote innovation in green shipping, environmental sustainability and economic sustainability. GEMS-TECH aims to disseminate cutting-edge knowledge and best practices in green marine technologies beyond academia through targeted training, capacity building and open online resources such as MOOC (Massive Open Online Course). This comprehensive education programme, linked to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, addresses the marine industry’s pressing need for environmental management.
GEMS-TECH will help advance sustainable maritime development, improve graduates’ career opportunities, and modernise the industry to meet today’s challenges by training qualified personnel in environmental economic principles and practices. Industry stakeholders will contribute to the relevance of the curriculum and the practical applicability of the project results by participating in setting immediate and future requirements for the sustainable development of the maritime sector. GEMS-TECH is a pioneering step towards harmonising maritime education with global sustainability, setting a new benchmark for regional educational cooperation and planning future projects worldwide.
N.B. This is a non-binding, AI translated text. Any difference between the Bulgarian original and the English translation should be treated in favor of the Bulgarian version.
