The digital and energy transition will change our industry. To be prepared for this challenge, NHL Stenden University of Applied Sciences puts quite some effort in developing new innovative courses and new types of digitally enabled education. An example is a new minor concentrated on engineering tools and methods that have emerged in the (construction) industry over the past decades. In addition, the school is also working on a game to educate an old trade: ship stability. In addition to the changes to the existing programs, a new level of education is introduced in the Netherlands, the Professional Doctorate. The Professional Doctorate is comparable to the PhD but focusses on practically applied research. All these changes and innovations to the current maritime education at NHL Stenden are elaborated upon in this paper. The paper concludes with an outlook to the future, based upon the results from a survey held under students and lecturers regarding their view on the future of maritime education. The results of this survey show that especially green and modern propulsion methods are underexposed in the current curriculum.

In recent years, a significant amount of research has been conducted on autonomous ships. Since it is assumed that these ships will sail with a significantly reduced crew or even without people on board, the design of the ship needs reconsideration. The absence of people on board and the associated safety measures could result in a more efficient design, but amendments in the existing regulatory framework will be needed. In this article, we will focus on potential changes in the Convention for Safety Of Life At Sea (SOLAS) and in particular on the Required Subdivision Index. The index gives a requirement for the allowed probability of sinking when a ship is damaged due to collision. The evaluation is performed by using the principle of equivalent safety, which will ensure that unmanned ships will be at least as safe as manned ships. If the crew is no longer present, the consequences of an incident will be less severe, since the probability of casualties is no longer present. Consequently, a lower subdivision index might be accepted for unmanned autonomous ships. In this article, the damage stability-related level of risk of a manned ship will be derived by means of a risk analysis. Thereafter, the subdivision index for unmanned ships, which ensures an equivalent safety level to similar manned ships, is established for three individual ships. The assessment shows that a reduction in the subdivision index is allowed for unmanned ships and that the reduction will be largest for smaller ships.