PGZ Stocznia Wojenna is actively involved in educating future personnel for the shipbuilding industry. In cooperation with the Naval Academy, a specialty in Technological Support for Ship Production has been established within the Mechanics and Machine Construction program, where experienced shipyard employees share practical knowledge. This is a response to the growing demand for qualified specialists in the shipbuilding industry.
From Theory to Practice – Joint Educational Program
PGZ Stocznia Wojenna has focused on close cooperation with the Naval Academy in educating future personnel. The shipyard is a co-creator and patron of the Technological Support for Ship Production specialty, where the curriculum has been adapted to the real needs of the shipbuilding industry. As CEO Marcin Ryngwelski emphasizes: That’s why rebuilding technical and vocational education is crucial for us. We must also strengthen cooperation with universities, especially with the Institute of Naval Architecture at the Gdańsk University of Technology and the Institute of Ship Construction and Operation at the Naval Academy, which educates naval ship designers. We need to break the stereotype that shipyard professions involve hard, outdated work. Today’s welder, fitter, or painter is a high-class specialist operating technologically advanced equipment. This is no longer welding with an electrode, as shown in old photographs, but precise, well-paid work using modern machines.
We defined the graduate profile and specified the knowledge, skills, and competencies achieved through this specialty. This specialty is practically created for us, tailored to our needs, explains Jamal Hamoud, Deputy Technical Director for Production Development at PGZ SW, who is also a lecturer for this specialty at the Naval Academy.
Jamal Hamoud is not the only practitioner from the Shipyard sharing knowledge with students. CEO Marcin Ryngwelski, together with Dr. Cmdr. Marcin Zacharewicz from the Naval Academy, teaches Ship Theory and Construction in military studies as well. Radosław Cackowski, head of the design office, introduces students to the ship design process, from concept to 3D models. Wojciech Szyszkowski, the quality control department manager at the Shipyard, shares knowledge in quality control. Thanks to their involvement, students receive practical knowledge directly from individuals shaping the modern shipbuilding industry.
The uniqueness of the program lies in combining theory with practice. The faculty consists of experienced Naval officers and specialists from PGZ SW. Students regularly visit the shipyard, where they can see in practice what they learn during theoretical classes. Moreover, they can also count on paid summer internships at PGZ SW.
World-Class Laboratories
The Department of Ship Propulsion Systems Operation at the Faculty of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering of the Naval Academy has unique educational infrastructure in the country. At its heart is a comprehensively equipped Laboratory of Ship Propulsion Systems Operation, where students can use actual ship equipment
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This is the only laboratory in Poland that helps comprehensively educate engineers in the full range of ship equipment operation. One can start a combustion engine and perform a full range of laboratory tests on it – e.g., engine indication, checking its energy parameters, and conducting exhaust gas analysis. This engine works, starts up, and is tested, as are pumps, centrifuges, compressors, and other auxiliary equipment, describes Jamal Hamoud.
The laboratory is equipped with a range of advanced ship devices. Students can practice on one of three piston ship engines – a Sulzer type 6AL20/24 engine, an MTU series 2000 engine, and a single-cylinder Andoria research engine, on which full tests can be conducted under laboratory conditions. The Sulzer and MTU engines together constitute the largest population of engines used in the Navy. The Laboratory also has two turbine engines – a GTD-350 engine and a TG-16 generator set engine. These are supplemented by complete sets of auxiliary equipment necessary for the functioning of any floating unit, such as pumps, compressors, fuel and oil centrifuges, a steam boiler, a garbage incinerator, a bilge water separator, a ship refrigerator, air conditioning equipment, an adjustable propeller, steering equipment, and many others. There are also stations for shaft alignment and stations for testing injection pumps and injectors. Such comprehensive laboratory equipment allows for practical knowledge of all key devices and installations found on modern floating units.
From Theory to Workshop
In addition to technical facilities, the Department of Ship Propulsion Systems Operation has a Ship Engine Room Simulator Laboratory where the basic equipment consists of UNITEST simulators replicating thirteen different engine rooms of ships and vessels, as well as simulators of dozens of individual auxiliary devices. The Faculty of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering of the Naval Academy also has advanced laboratories for automation, robotics, and electronics. This infrastructure allows students to gain practical knowledge of all aspects of floating unit operation – from equipment selection, through their use and diagnostics, to maintenance and damage repair.
This unique facility is located right at the main gate of PGZ Stocznia Wojenna, although few know of its existence. This comprehensive infrastructure is used by students who, thanks to practical work with real equipment, not just theory from textbooks, become high-class specialists, emphasizes Hamoud. Additionally, the experience shared by specialists from the Shipyard allows students to develop competencies closely matched to the needs of the modern shipbuilding industry.
Individual Approach to Education
Relatively small class groups (compared to other technical universities), maximum use of available infrastructure, and direct contact with industry practitioners create optimal conditions for educating high-class specialists. This is particularly important in the context of implementing strategic programs for Navy modernization, including the construction of frigates in the Miecznik program.
We must continuously employ specialists in direct production, but also simultaneously try to acquire designers, technologists, and production masters. We increasingly need these groups of employees, emphasizes Hamoud, pointing to the growing demand for qualified personnel in the shipbuilding industry.
Shipyard and University Join Forces
The Shipyard’s involvement in educating future personnel is not limited to co-creating the curriculum. PGZ SW has established a scholarship program for the best students in the “Technological Support for Ship Production” specialty. The Shipyard has created a comprehensive support system – from defining the graduate profile, through active employee participation in teaching, to paid internships during studies. Thanks to an agreement between the shipyard and the university, 2nd and 3rd-year civilian students from the Naval Academy complete internships with us. This systematic approach is expected to yield tangible results in the form of excellently prepared specialists ready to undertake work on the most demanding shipyard projects.
It is worth noting that the Naval Academy supports the Shipyard in implementing current projects. Specialists employed there, particularly in impact resistance and FEM (Finite Element Method) numerical calculations, material strength, signatures such as acoustic or vibration, or ship engine diagnostics, support key projects implemented by PGZ SW with their knowledge and experience.
The cooperation between PGZ SW and the Naval Academy is an example of combining the worlds of science and industry, which is expected to ensure the development of the Polish shipbuilding industry in the coming decades. The Shipyard now awaits the final effects of these systematic actions in the form of new, well-prepared employees. The first results are more than promising, as students from the Mechanics and Machine Construction program at the Naval Academy’s Faculty of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering are successfully completing professional internships at PGZ Stocznia Wojenna.
