STAR Center Hosts Inaugural Meeting of MARAD Centers of Excellence
On April 8-9,2025, STAR Center hosted the inaugural meeting of the MARAD Centers of Excellence (CoE). 20 of the 32 current CoEs participated in-person or virtually.
The purpose of the meeting was to provide a forum to promote collaboration among CoEs, including the exchange of ideas and best practices. The meeting also provided a valuable opportunity for networking between CoEs.
The meeting and agenda were put together by a planning committee of CoEs who worked to provide a robust schedule focused on our meeting objectives with ample opportunity for all CoE’s to contribute and highlight their diverse programs. The program fostered robust discussion and 5 panel presentations provided opportunities for CoEs to dive a bit deeper into their program activities and aspirations. Panels and topics for the meeting included:
- Raising Industry Awareness/Recruitment Strategies
- Maritime Programs Leading to Shoreside Employment Opportunities
- Maritime Programs Leading to Offshore Employment Opportunities
- Unique Maritime Sector COE programs
- Working with the USCG and MSC
All participants agreed that the meeting was an overall success and future meetings of CoEs are being discussed.