New £6 million Warsash maritime campus unveiled

Southampton Solent University is to soon open the doors to its new home for officer cadet training and first certification courses, previously taught at Warsash Maritime Academy.

Situated in St Mary’s campus within the grounds of City College, the new facilities will open for officer cadets on 18th September 2017.

Future development phases will involve teaching provision for senior officers and superyacht certification relocating to the University’s main campus, along with bridge, engine and liquid cargo simulation courses and maritime professional development programmes.

Syamantak Bhattacharya, director of the Warsash School of Maritime, Science and Engineering at Solent said, “We are excited to have reached the first phase of our investment plans into maritime education and training at Solent. 

“Investing £6 million into the refurbishment of the new premises forms part of the University’s major plans to modernise facilities and bring our professional and higher level maritime education programmes from the Warsash campus to the city centre by 2019—while continuing to build on the heritage and expertise associated with Warsash Maritime Academy.

“Warsash has become world-renowned for providing a cadetship programme and a number of professional short courses for over 70 years. The new premises will provide officer cadets with a distinct modern teaching environment, exclusively for seafarers studying for their officer of the watch certificate of competency.”

Officer Cadets will have access to a wide range of facilities at the St Mary’s campus, including brand new engineering workshops, a welding area and electrical and control laboratories, along with an ECDIS simulator suite and Marine-Electro-Technical Officer (METO) workshops.

Just a ten-minute walk from the University’s main campus, officer cadets will also be able to take full advantage of a 24-hour library, learning resource centre, sports facilities and student union.

For international students, Southampton Airport Parkway is accessible in less than 20 minutes by car.

Practical short courses and teaching for the fire school, maritime safety and offshore, first aid and medical, and seamanship courses, remain at the waterside of the current Warsash Maritime Academy campus, with investment plans for new and redeveloped facilities.

For more information, visit Warsash Maritime Academy or Southampton Solent University.