Who we are The team consists of two universities, the Business Academy SouthWest (Denmark) and the Bremerhaven University of Applied Sciences (Germany), Denmark's cluster organisation and innovation network for energy production (Energy Innovation Cluster) and the private DOB-Academy (The Netherlands), which specialises in offshore energy education for professionals. 3 partners, the universities and the Energy Innovation Cluster already work together in the EU INTERREG project Inn2POWER (2016-2020). With the DOB Academy was operational cooperation on a smaller scale. The DOB Academy is a new team member. What we have done so far? In Inn2POWER, an Offshore Wind Energy MBA was developed and implemented. Target group are the offshore wind energy companies and their employees in the North Sea region. The accreditation application for a joint degree programme has been submitted. Accreditation is expected by the end of 2020. How we work The connection between university, industry and cluster organisations is essential for success. Therefore, universities and the cluster organisation are represented in this consortium. From Inn2POWER we bring an extensive network to other cluster organisations and companies. With the DOB Academy as a private further education provider, new and additional know-how in the implementation and marketing of further education offers is added. What we will do in the Erasmus + Project Currently the Offshore Wind Energy MBA is a basic version with 9 modules and a master thesis. Many topics that are important for the offshore wind industry and its further environment for the use and development of renewable energy could not be considered in it yet. They are essential for the further development of the offshore wind industry and the realization of the expansion of renewable energy production. With a content expansion, which is also accompanied by a geographical expansion of the target group, the needs of the industry are better represented and the Offshore Wind Energy MBA becomes more attractive for companies and participants. The Offshore Wind Energy MBA has been developed on the basis of the training needs formulated by the industry and academic content and didactic contributions. It is necessary to reformulate the entire content and didactic strategy after this first development phase in order to significantly develop all aspects further. A key aspect here is online teaching and learning, which has so far only been marginally considered, but is essential for an MBA with an international orientation. The suitability and possibilities of digital learning are examined and tested for their applicability in the present context. The qualification of the lecturers is also an essential aspect for the implementation of new digital learning forms. What methods do we use to achieve these goals? The close cooperation between university and industry has been a key success factor so far and will be continued. Our project work is a regular process of coordinating the results of the project team with our external stakeholders and, vice versa, regular input. Advisory boards have been set up in Denmark and Germany since 2018 and are staffed by representatives from industry. In addition, we involve further cluster organizations in these coordination processes. Partial results are presented and discussed in Knowledge Salons and other formats of events and publications (e.g. via LinkedIn) on a broader scale to the industry. In addition, we also broaden the focus beyond the industry. Knowledge about how such an industry-specific MBA has been developed and implemented can be transferred to other industries. As universities in Europe have only marginally participated in the further education market so far, we see a necessity and great potential to abstract from the specific sector offshore wind and to distil a general concept for an "Applied MBA" from our experiences and concepts and to present it to universities, representatives of other sectors, organisations and companies as a model and thus initiate a process to create further such sector-specific Applied MBAs in Europe. This will contribute to strengthening the link between tertiary education and the economy, which will also have innovation effects for the universities and for the competitiveness of the respective sectors. At the end of the project, an Offshore Wind Energy MBA course of study will be developed further in essential aspects, which will be implemented specifically and made available as a general model. We see a long-term impact in the strengthening of the offshore wind industry in Europe and thus a contribution to strengthening the supply of renewable energy. With this model, we present a cross-sectoral presentation of how the tertiary education sector can create innovative educational offers together with the economy and thus contribute to the competitiveness of companies and branches.
The purpose of the project was to heighten the level of key competencies needed in the industry. This should be seen in a context of making the programme more flexible for participants through new digital teaching formats as well as additional new topics to make the education more tailor-made to the individual according to their needs. The WISE Offshore project aimed at 1) the strategic development of the teaching and learning concept 2) the further development of the didactic concept with the focus on exploiting the potential of online learning opportunities 3) the expansion of content and, in part, of geographical coverage to reach new target groups through specific learning content 4) the qualification of lecturers in the design and implementation of online teaching and blended learning. 5) making this MBA programme concept known as a prototype for other universities and other industries.
The context of this project is The Offshore Wind Energy MBA, which was developed and implemented as a part of the EU-Interreg project, Inn2POWER (2016-2020). The MBA’s target group is employees in offshore wind energy companies in the North Sea region. The first modules were conducted in 2018, and the accreditation as a joint degree programme was granted in 2020. The MBA was designed and implemented in a basic version with 9 modules and a master thesis. Many topics that are important for the offshore wind industry had not been considered in it at this point. More modules were essential for the further development of the offshore wind industry and for the realisation of the expansion of renewable energy production. Therefore, there was a need for a content expansion, accompanied by a geographical expansion of the target group. It was also necessary to investigate opportunities and methods for a new learning strategy. A key aspect here is online teaching and learning, which is essential for an MBA with an international orientation. The possibilities of digital learning needed to be examined and tested. The qualification of the lecturers is also an essential aspect for the implementation of new digital learning forms.