We are pleased to confirm that we are providing the Odessa National Maritime University (ONMU) support, free of charge, to ensure their seafarer training continues during wartime, using our latest immersive VR solution, VASCO.
Ukraine has a long tradition, and internationally renowned reputation, for developing highly trained seafarers for the Global Fleet.
Due to the full-scale war in Ukraine, training has become significantly interrupted, impacting the ability for cadets to advance with theoretical consolidation in traditional simulators, due to ongoing challenges with Ukraine’s power supplies and overall security.
ONMU approached us to explore the option of introducing VASCO into their existing curriculums and jointly investigate whether this immersive technology could offer a contemporary and resilient solution for ongoing adoption.
Having received a demonstration of the Virtual Reality Bridge Training Environment, VASCO, ONMU believed that the capability would immediately support several of their training objectives, permitting time to consider VR as an option within other curriculum areas.
VASCO permits learners to enter this collaborative training environment, via their VR headsets, irrespective of geographical location, with the only dependency being a stable Wi-Fi connection.
Following a Train the Trainer session, collaborative training session(s) will be managed and facilitated by ONMU’s Nautical instructor(s) who will coach, mentor and evaluate the learners through a series of real-world maritime scenarios, that will cover all the International Rules for Preventing Collisions at Sea (ColRegs).
We have provided, Meta Quest 2 headsets, VASCO operating Software and will continue to provide ongoing support to training delivery, whilst preparing to jointly advance a White Paper that objectively assesses the overall project.
Iryna Savelieva, Vice Rector of Scientific Research, Education and Administration of ONMu says:
“Your support will be essential in enabling ONMU to launch a new project that will take maritime education and training to a new technical level.”
The university posted this great video on LinkedIn:
We're just as excited as them to see the progress their learners make; we will continue to keep you updated.