engleski

The Evaluation of Professional Practice in Maritime Education: A Case Study at Faculty of Maritime Studies in the Republic of Croatia

Professional practice in higher education has a threefold function: it enables students to gain practical knowledge and skills needed to enter the job market, it provides employers with access to human resources, and universities offer better study programs. Professional practice at the Faculty of Maritime Studies in Rijeka (Croatia) is conducted as part of five undergraduate and five graduate study programs and is organized through activities that enable the acquisition of practical knowledge, such as laboratory exercises, simulators, polygons, practicums, practice grounds, study visits, training ship and in maritime shipping companies. The paper presents the results of research conducted within the Pandora project, funded by the European Social Fund, Operational Programme Efficient Human Resources 2014-2020. The Pandora project aimed to explore existing forms of professional practice at the Faculty of Maritime Studies Rijeka-Croatia, evaluate and make recommendations for improving existing forms of professional practice. Interview and survey methods were used for data collection. The research was conducted on 100 respondents, of which 50 respondents were students, 17 respondents were professors, and 33 respondents were maritime companies. Constructive recommendations are provided to contribute to the higher quality of different forms of professional practice. The results show that the organization of professional practice has no logistical-administrative support and is often individualized, mechanisms for the evaluation of professional practice are not established, an insufficient connection of the tripartite student-teacheremployer relationship leads to an underdeveloped mentoring system, and there is a lack of bachelor’s and master’s theses written in collaboration with the maritime shipping industry.

higher education, professional practice, maritime education, experiential learning

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