Last Thursday, November 21, the Cádiz Conference Centre hosted a prominent session on educational innovation as part of the BLUE ZONE FORUM Innovazul 2024. This event, organized by the University of Cádiz (UCA), CEI•MAR, and the Cádiz Free Trade Zone, featured the European SEA-EU alliance, which led a session dedicated to training future professionals for the blue economy.
In the first part of the session, Lola Perea, Director of the Secretariat for the Internationalization of Education at SEA-EU, introduced the alliance’s joint degree in sustainable blue economy, known as “SEABLUE.” During her presentation, she highlighted the importance of this program in training experts ready to tackle global challenges in the sector. Perea was joined by Luis Núñez, representative of the Port of Algeciras, who discussed a recent joint training initiative between SEA-EU and MEDPORTS focused on port decarbonization. Núñez also presented the joint master’s program in port management, “MIPMAL,” a groundbreaking initiative in the region. The session also featured Elena Corrales from Navantia and Gonzalo Muñoz from UCA, a member of the academic committee for the SEABLUE degree, who emphasized that these programs are designed to train the interdisciplinary experts businesses are seeking.
The second part of the session focused on collaboration with companies linked to the blue economy in the province, such as FRIZONIA, SURCONTROL, and the Cádiz Maritime Cluster. During this segment, María de Andrés, Director of the Secretariat for Lifelong Learning Degrees at UCA, introduced the new microcredential initiative, highlighting its ability to adapt to the sector’s rapid changes and provide agile training in specific skills. She explained that these microcredentials allow for the delivery of highly specialized knowledge and the efficient preparation of future professionals, meeting the demands of a constantly evolving labor market.
This session underscored SEA-EU’s commitment to educational innovation, highlighting its leadership in training professionals equipped to address challenges and seize opportunities in the blue economy. Innovazul 2024 reaffirms its position as a key platform for connecting universities, businesses, and organizations dedicated to sustainable development and innovation in this strategic field.
