(NEWS) Health and Wellbeing Seminar Held in Manila for GEFO

May

2023

Health and Wellbeing Seminar Held in Manila for GEFO

From 24-25 April in Manila, Philippines, the World Maritime University (WMU) delivered an Executive Professional Development Course (EPDC) on Seafarer Health and Wellbeing for Gesellschaft für Oeltransporte mbH (GEFO). The customized EPDC was designed to provide seafarers and the ship management team with insights into personal and organizational factors influencing mental health and wellbeing.

WMU Professor, Michael Ekow Manuel, and Assistant Professor, Inga Bartuseviciene, led the seminar that was delivered to 39 participants. Topics discussed included stressors at sea, social isolation, conflict prevention and resolution, and optimizing wellbeing and mental health at sea. The seminar will be delivered for GEFO two more times in 2023 - in Hamburg this May, and at WMU headquarters in Malmö, Sweden this fall.

This successful partnership demonstrates one way in which WMU meets the needs of the shipping industry in addressing complex issues in the maritime sector i.e. through training interventions. Other ways include through research and organizational consulting. GEFO and WMU are committed to continued collaboration to promote sustainable development and improve the wellbeing of seafarers to make a positive impact on the maritime industry and the people who work in it.

GEFO has returned to WMU repeatedly for customized EPDCs for their employees since 2014. Customized offerings include courses on Maritime Safety, Emergency Management According to ISM Code, Maritime Safety Management and Handling of Operational Risk, Improving the Implementation of the ISM Code, Ship Safety Management and Accident Investigation, Safety Leadership, and Safety Optimization / Human Element. The Seafarer Health and Wellbeing course was also delivered on location for GEFO employees in Gdansk, Poland and in Malmö, Sweden in 2022.

For information about WMU's Executive and Professional Development Courses, click here.

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Dissertation title

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