Led by the Turkish partner in the TEcoNaut Project, the 140-hour pilot implementation at Gölcük Şehit Volkan Tantürk Vocational and Technical High School has been successfully completed.
What has been achieved?
Students actively participated in hands-on production processes using sustainable composite materials. Following the pilot project, feedback from students was gathered via structured questionnaires. At the end of the process, a certificate presentation ceremony was held to recognise the participants’ efforts.
The learning process and outcomes.
- Every product created was analysed and discussed with the students.
- Students were expected not only to create their work but also to evaluate it critically and decide how to improve it.
- Thanks to this approach, as the process progressed, the products were produced more smoothly, with higher quality and greater control.
Technical progress.
- It is planned to send the latest finished products for tensile strength testing.
- Students have now begun preparing the mould for a 3-metre boat.
- Material procurement processes have been completed, and purchases have been made from local suppliers.
Transition from Education to Actual Production.
This process has gone beyond the confines of classroom-based education to become a tangible form of collaboration between production and industry.
During their dissemination activities at the Kocaeli Chamber of Maritime Commerce, industry representatives raised the proposal to build a real boat at their school.
As a result of these developments, a 6-metre boat mould has been acquired for their VET center.
The project outcomes caught the attention of the Chamber of Maritime Commerce’s Head Office, leading to an official visit to their school.
Following the presentations and dissemination activities, the project was assessed as a strong model where vocational education is directly integrated with the sector.
Budget discussions are currently ongoing, and a positive outcome is anticipated in line with the policy approach supporting vocational education.
Strategic Assessment
This pilot project has highlighted a clear fact:
When vocational education is structured around real production processes and industry partnerships,
student outcomes cease to be merely an ‘educational product’ and become a genuine asset to the production process.
Next Steps
Completion of mechanical testing processes (tensile strength)
Transition from a 3-metre prototype to the production of a 6-metre full-scale vessel
Expansion of the industry-supported training model
Integration of TEcoNaut outcomes into a sustainable vocational training curriculum
Outcome: This project is not merely a pilot scheme. It is a concrete model demonstrating that vocational education can be transformed into a production-oriented structure.
Connecting education and industry to develop a better future for both young professionals and the nautical sector is a reality. We congratulate our partners GÖLCÜK MTAL for their impressive work and commitement.
