Editorial

In this editorial some as-pects of the shipbuilding sci-ence and education in Croatia today will be slightly touched upon.

Recently, for the fourth time in the city of Rijeka the Conference on Marine Technology has been held, an event that is already becoming recognisable and traditional. In this way, it makes together with the SORTA Symposium and Brodogradnja journal a trefoil that represents for the Croatian scientists and experts a platform for publishing and presenting the results of their creative work. Not so long ago this trefoil was actually a four-foil, but the fourth foil, i.e. the Annual Meeting of the Croatian Ship Designers, due to unknown reasons withered away. In these hard times for the Croatian shipbuilding, when innovations and the design development of highly sophisticated vessels have literally become the imperative of its existence, it is essential to save this trefoil (probably even the four-foil?), because each of the foils represents a lighthouse for the Croatian shipbuilding know-how. Therefore, ship designers, heads up!

In this journal’s issue the interview with the dean of FESB (Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture) in Split is published. In this way a circle is closed, because in the previous issues the deans of the other two faculties in Croatia having the studies in naval architecture (FSB-Zagreb, TF-Rijeka) were interviewed. In these interviews the subject concerning studying in accordance with the Bologna guidelines was inevitably touched upon. Although none of the deans made an explicit statement, an impression of disagree-ment and doubt about the meaningfulness of such a study remained. For example, the study division in two main cycles that has created the baccalaureus, a profi le totally uninteresting for the industry but at the same time not properly prepared for the higher study level. Or, due to the maladjustment of the study curricula and the lack of lecturing staff, the continuous knowledge assessment (homework, preliminary exams) during the lecturing time resulted in an immense over-load of students and in a drastic drop in the quality of learning. Or, collecting the neces-sary number of ECTS credits by liberal stu-dent’s selection of courses has not brought the so much-vaunted mobility during the period of study, but has created a chaotic situation when the monitoring of the studying success of a student is in question.

Anyway, with the wishes that the science and education will go hand in hand with the shipbuilding practice in Croatia in the next period, the editorial staff of Brodogradnja wishes all the shipbuilders pleasant Christmas Holidays and a lot of prosperity in the com-ing year 2012.