Assessment of Sustainability Integration in Maritime Education Curricula in Türkiye
6th GMC’26 – Global Maritime Congress, İzmir, Türkiye, 28 - 29 Eylül 2026, ss.1-15, (Tam Metin Bildiri)
- Yayın Türü: Bildiri / Tam Metin Bildiri
- Basıldığı Şehir: İzmir
- Basıldığı Ülke: Türkiye
- Sayfa Sayıları: ss.1-15
- Galatasaray Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
The
maritime industry is undergoing a sustainability transition driven by
increasingly stringent environmental regulations, technological developments,
and the global commitment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs). As a result, Maritime Education and Training (MET) institutions are
expected to equip future maritime professionals with the competencies required
to support sustainable maritime development. However, there remains limited
evidence regarding the extent to which sustainability principles are
systematically integrated into maritime higher education curricula. This study
evaluates the sustainability integration of maritime higher education programs
in Türkiye using the SDGs as a standardized analytical framework. A total of 34
undergraduate and vocational programs in deck and marine engineering education,
comprising 310 courses, were analyzed based on official curricula, course
descriptions, and learning outcomes. Courses were classified according to their
level of sustainability relevance, mapped to the SDGs, and evaluated using the
proposed Maritime Sustainability Curriculum Index (MSCI). The findings indicate
that sustainability integration varies considerably among different program
types. Undergraduate marine engineering programs demonstrated the highest level
of sustainability integration, whereas vocational programs exhibited
comparatively lower levels, largely reflecting the regulatory and structural
constraints of vocational maritime education. SDG 14 (Life Below Water) emerged
as the most frequently represented goal, followed by SDG 3 (Good Health and
Well-being), SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), and SDG 13 (Climate Action),
indicating that current curricula primarily emphasize environmental protection,
occupational safety, and decarbonization-related competencies. The proposed
MSCI provides a transparent and standardized approach for assessing
sustainability integration across maritime education programs and identifying
curricular strengths and improvement opportunities. Beyond the Turkish case,
the methodology offers a transferable framework for benchmarking maritime
curricula internationally and supporting evidence-based curriculum development
and international benchmarking in maritime higher education.