The project aimed to provide a new way of learning French maritime terminology by offering a comprehensive, innovative and open-source digital platform. Specific objectives included: • Promoting linguistic diversity: the learning of maritime French had to be strengthened to meet the communication needs in a multilingual environment on board ships. • Modernising maritime education: the learning platform had to integrate interactive features and adapted educational resources, allowing for independent or supervised learning. • Strengthening professional skills: by providing precise reference materials and glossaries, the project aimed to improve the capacities of students and professionals to meet the requirements of the job market. • Facilitating transnational cooperation: the project had to create a framework for exchange between European higher maritime education institutions, promoting the sharing of good practices and the development of innovative educational tools.
The project was initiated to meet several needs identified in the European maritime sector. On the one hand, there was a notable lack of specialized educational resources for learning maritime terminology in French and English, essential languages to ensure effective and secure communication on board ships. On the other hand, European maritime institutions lacked modern tools to promote a digital transition of teaching, necessary to prepare students and professionals for the growing demands of the globalized maritime market. Finally, linguistic diversity being a pillar of the European Union, this project is part of a desire to promote the learning of maritime French, often neglected in international training while France has a large fleet of ships and the needs of seagoing personnel are marked. These needs were identified through preliminary analyses and feedback from experts in the field, confirming the urgency of developing innovative and accessible tools.