The Final (3rd) Dissemination Workshop of the Sea of Experience project was initiated by a welcoming speech from Mr. Tsouloftas from the Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) and a presentation of the national strategy and main pilots regarding the maritime in Cyprus from Mr. Ioannis Typaldos from the Shipping Deputy Ministry (Figure 3). An introduction, the overview, the partners, and the general particulars of the Sea of Experience project were presented by Nikolaos Ventikos from NTUA . Next, each key element, areas of focus and the outputs of SoE were described.
Mr. George Voulkas from APOPSI S.A. presented the sharing-pooling e-platform and the gamification application. Regarding the sharing-pooling e-platform, it is noted that the scope was to build a platform that allows to upload all kinds of mentoring and training material from different professions regarding blue/maritime professions and let both mentees and mentors to use the platform and be associated with each other. Regarding the gamification application, it is explained how it is working and an example of a game was presented. The user of the gamification application can experience some training at the beginning and then proceed to the scenario mode where he can watch the inside of the ship and experience a real essence of what he will be facing if working there.
Mrs. Theano Zagkliveri from the NTUA presented the Become a Digital Expert for a Day event where 360o videos of different aspects were presented to the participants. During the coffee break, the participant of the workshop had the opportunity to use the virtual reality (VR) headsets, check how they work, and experience the inside of the ship. Mrs. Despoina Davidou from Evalion Ltd presented the Evaluation tool that was created during the project and explained how each mentee through these tools can find and connect to the appropriate mentor. Mr. Georgios Nikolaidis from UCY, Theano Zagkliveri from NTUA, and Monica Andreou from CMMI presented a face-to-face storytelling session, where each organization pointed out what has been accomplished from each side, how they experienced the project and demonstrated all the actions (workshops, summer schools, competitions, etc.) that were created during the project.
Mrs. Lina Ellina, professor at MIEEK at Supply Chain Management and Maritime Studies, present how her students were attracted by the Competition that SoE had organized and how they were inspired by the project to learn more about ships and waste management on them. Mrs. Monica Andreou presented the “Become an expert for a day” activity of SoE, where students followed an expert during his working activities for a whole day to be familiarized with the environment and the working conditions. Mr. Petros Dias, a mentor that participated in the Become an expert for a day” activity presented how he experience the day with the mentees and what is the gain for the mentors from this activity.
Mr. Zacharias Siokouros from CMMI, presented the challenges faced in the blue sector with regard to research and innovation and addressed the digitalization challenges through the twin transition in the maritime sector. He covered in a comprehensive manner the role of research, development, and technology in the shipping industry and the challenges faced in the blue market.
To conclude the Dissemination Workshop, Prof. Nikolaos P. Ventikos from NTUA, summarized the tasks and activities of SoE and the importance of maintaining and continuing the use of the sharing-pooling e-platform.