Universal Journal of Educational Research 8(9): 4129-4142, 2020 http://www.hrpub.org DOI: 10.13189/ujer.2020.080939 Maritime Education and Training in the Digital Era Ergun Demirel Maritime Faculty, Piri Reis University, Turkey Received June 2, 2020; Revised July 7, 2020; Accepted August 10, 2020 Cite This Paper in the following Citation Styles (a): [1] Ergun Demirel , "Maritime Education and Training in the Digital Era," Universal Journal of Educational Research, Vol. 8, No. 9, pp. 4129-4142, 2020. DOI: 10.13189/ujer.2020.080939. (b): Ergun Demirel (2020). Maritime Education and Training in the Digital Era. Universal Journal of Educational Research, 8(9), 4129-4142. DOI: 10.13189/ujer.2020.080939. Copyright©2020 by authors, all rights reserved. Authors agree that this article remains permanently open access under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 International License Abstract As a result of technologic improvement, the shipping is rapidly changing. Digitalization and high level automation lead important changes in the operation of maritime business and subsequently the reconsideration of the role of seafarers. The shipping business becomes more technical and it demands highly skilled and specialized crew ready to embrace continuously evolving technology. The mission of the education institutes is not preparing the people for today but also for future requirements. It requires them to understand effect of digitalization on industry and adopt new programmes as well as benefits from IT technology to improve their teaching and learning methods. It is also necessary to establish a close cooperation and collaboration between industry and education institutes and evaluate missing points in the education system. A teaching system is required to rebound ability to learners to use information and understand abilities of automated systems. Traditional seafarer training is a part of applied science and focus on practical and cognitive skills. But since 1990s seafaring officer training reshaped to cover academic competencies to breed officers endowed with the ability to use highly improved technology. This study discusses how we can improve our education systems to prepare young seafaring officer for the future as well as how we can get benefits from the digitalization to appreciate our teaching and learning activities. Keywords MET in Digital Age, Vocational and Academic Education, New Trends in the Education, Industry and University Cooperation 1. Introduction As a result of technologic improvement, the shipping is rapidly changing. Digitalization and high level automation lead important changes in the operation of maritime business and subsequently the reconsideration of the role of seafarers. The shipping business becomes more technical and it demands highly skilled and specialized crew ready to embrace continuously evolving technology. Traditional seafarer training is a part of applied science and focus on practical and cognitive skills. But since 1990s seafaring officer training reshaped to cover academic competencies to breed officers endowed with the ability to use highly improved technology. The mission of the education institutes is not preparing the people for today but also for future requirements. It requires them to understand effect of digitalization on industry and adopt new programmes as well as benefits from IT technology to improve their teaching and learning methods. It is also necessary to establish a close cooperation and collaboration between industry and education institutes and evaluate missing points in the education system. A teaching system is required to provide ability to learners to use information and understand abilities of automated system. 1.1. What is Digitalization? Futurist Gert Leonhard [1] explains “disruptive technology” which has a significant impact as the five essential elements of the digitalization as follows:  Automation of knowledge work