Carnival Corporation Partners with University of West Florida to Create New Interactive Training Programs for Its Environmental Officers

Carnival Corporation & plc announced it partnered with the University of West Florida (UWF) to enhance the company’s fleet-wide environmental officer training program with the launch of an innovative and interactive new Environmental Excellence course.

Carnival Corporation’s award-winning Center for Simulator Maritime Training (CSMART) Academy located at its Arison Maritime Center in Almere, Netherlands teamed up with UWF’s Innovation Institute to jointly develop and produce the new environmental training course, designed to foster a culture of learning, ownership and greater understanding of environmental compliance.

The Environmental Excellence course incorporates UWF’s specialization in challenge-based learning and CSMART Academy’s deep knowledge of maritime training and advanced simulator capabilities to provide interactive instruction and continuous professional development for environmental officers across Carnival Corporation’s nine global cruise line brands.

"The course utilizes the challenge based learning framework to provide continuous professional development for Environmental Officers from all Carnival Brands to build upon and reinforce core skills, including: refreshing Environmental Officer knowledge and skills, application of analytical and technical literacy skills to solve shipboard environmental challenges, and evaluation and presentation of information to influence compliant environmental operations," Brigett Potts, Senior Manager – Environmental Compliance Training & Communications, Carnival Corporation, told HT magazine.

The weeklong course consists of a virtual 23-day voyage aboard the MV Oceans Alive as the “ship” departs on a repositioning cruise from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, to Venice, Italy, followed by a 7-day voyage in the Adriatic and Ionian Seas.

"The virtual voyage and corresponding challenges are conveyed through the use of 13 video scenarios (each of which are between 1 and 2 hours long), including 360 degree videos that immerse and engage the learners in relevant shipboard challenges where they have to work as a team to identify and deliver solutions to the challenges presented," Potts explained.

The teams must learn to communicate, collaborate and take on real-world leadership skills as they investigate these challenges, research rules and regulations, and conduct shared-learning discussions throughout the continuing storyline.

“This new course that incorporates a challenge-based training methodology is another example of how we are constantly looking to enhance the understanding of compliance across the corporation, and how we are strengthening our approach to achieving and maintaining a culture of compliance, learning and overall environmental excellence,” said Chris Donald, senior vice president of corporate environmental compliance for Carnival Corporation. “We value the opportunity to work with UWF to maximize the effectiveness, level of engagement and impact of our training courses through a fun and engaging approach that incorporates participant feedback, and results in enhancing teamwork, shared learnings, responsibility and ownership.”

The Environmental Excellence course was developed as an advanced training course for Carnival Corporation’s environmental officers that must be completed starting in the third year of service and then required annually. The new course builds on two prior environmental courses that are required for environmental officers to take at CSMART in their first two years, on top of the six-hour Operational Excellence course required annually at CSMART Academy for the nearly 7,000 environmental, bridge, engineering and electrical officers who support the company’s global fleet.

This latest training development effort builds on previous work in partnership with the UWF Innovation Institute, based in Pensacola, Florida. In 2018, the UWF team collaborated with CSMART Academy to introduce challenge-based learning into the development of the Operational Excellence course, an interactive, discussion-based course focusing on ownership, environment, ethics and technology for all of Carnival Corporation’s deck, engineering, electrical and environmental officers.

In addition to its work with CSMART Academy, the UWF Innovation Institute has led the curriculum development for other leading facilities including the National Flight Academy’s (NFA) immersive, game-based learning programs for middle- and high-school students located in Pensacola, Florida.

Carnival Corporation's CSMART Academy has established itself as a world-renowned maritime training, professional development and research facility that is part of the seven-acre Arison Maritime Center. Founded in 2009 and staffed with one of the world's most experienced maritime training faculties, the CSMART Academy provides rigorous annual safety training for nearly 7,000 bridge, engineering and electrical officers responsible for the safe navigation and operation of the world's largest fleet of cruise ships from the corporation's nine cruise line brands.

The investment in new and expanded training courses is part of the company’s long-term commitment to sustainability, responsible operations and protecting the environment, as outlined in its 2020 sustainability goals. In 2017, Carnival Corporation announced it achieved its 25% carbon reduction goal three years ahead of schedule and made additional progress on that goal in 2018, and is on track with its nine remaining 2020 sustainability targets for reducing its environmental footprint, while enhancing the health, safety and security of its guests and crew members, and ensuring sustainable business practices among its nine cruise line brands, business partners and suppliers.