With the dual aim of, on one hand, strengthening the link between the university and industry, and on the other, expanding participants’ knowledge of the economic activities developed around the sea, the I Course on Innovation, Competitiveness, and Entrepreneurship in the Marine Sector will begin at the University of Vigo in mid-January.
“Last year we held a first edition of Icemar in the form of a training course, and based on participants’ evaluations and our own impressions, we wanted to take a step further by offering the course as a university specialist program,” explains Maruxa Álvarez, lecturer in the Ecology Area and academic director of the course. She points out that, in addition to placing greater value on the sea as the centerpiece of the training, its conversion into a specialist course also allows them to increase the teaching load, adding more hours for visits to companies and sectoral fairs.
With 250 hours of in-person instruction, divided among workshops, company visits, and off-campus training days, the course—offering 30 places—will run over a six-month period from January 17 to June 20. “Icemar provides participants with tools to identify the interests, skills, and personal characteristics that will allow them to explore and define their own professional goals,” explains Maruxa Álvarez, who confirms that the University of Vigo is the only university in Spain offering its own specialist degree in enhancing competitiveness and entrepreneurship in the marine sector.
The Sea: Goal and Means of Many Economic Activities
A team of instructors from various fields of knowledge—including humanities, sciences, engineering, social and legal sciences—as well as marine industry professionals, will be responsible for teaching the course, which is open to students, graduates, and professionals from any degree. “At Icemar, we consider the sea an ecosystem that we all are part of, especially in Vigo, where the sea is both the goal and the means of many economic activities,” explains the academic director of the course. She adds that once the training is completed, “participants can develop professional profiles capable of adding value and innovating in decision-making, both within the companies and institutions they join, and in the development of their own careers.”
Each course session will be divided into two parts. The first, lasting four hours, will consist of workshops on topics related to professional and personal skills, business knowledge, and economic activity in the marine sector. This will be followed by a session called MarIdeaje—“a play on words combining Mar + Ideas”—aimed at having marine professionals share with participants not only their current professional reality, but, above all, the values that have brought them to where they are. “We believe these sessions are very inspiring for participants,” explains Maruxa Álvarez, who also highlights that bi-monthly visits to companies and institutions will be organized. “So if we do the math, each participant entering Icemar will gain at least 50 new contacts. Not bad at all!” she adds.
