Portrait of the Maritime Development Center of Europe

Written by Gesine Stück  |  Monday, 16 May 2011  | 

The Maritime Development Center of Europe (MDCE) is situated in Copenhagen. The Center houses a team of 9 employees and is led by CEO Mr. Steen Sabinsky.

Denmark has a unified maritime cluster organisation and the work is divided between the three associations: the Maritime Development Center of Europe with 135 members, the Association for Promotion of Danish Shipping with 5500 members, and the Danish Society for Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering with 135 members. The strength of this structure is the voluntary commitment in each of the three associations, with the coordination of a common secretariat, MDCE.
“We are located right at the centre of the Danish Shipping Scene, adjacent to the Danish Shipowners’ Association, neighbour to A.P. Møller Mærsk headquarters and close to other large Danish Maritime organisations such as Man Diesel and J. Lauritzen. Besides our member organisations, we have a close collaboration with the Danish Maritime Authority and are supported by politicians, the industry, branch organisations, unions and Danish Maritime Universities and Academies”, says Mr. Steen Sabinsky.
The objectives of MDCE are to:
• Promote growth, innovation, cooperation, information and knowledge sharing in the Danish Maritime Cluster.
• Represent Denmark in the EU as “Short Sea Promotion Denmark” and “Danish Maritime Cluster”.
• Coordinate the maritime knowledge and knowhow network groups.
• Organise maritime conferences, meetings and seminars.
• Promote and encourage maritime entrepreneurships.
• Promote shipping careers to young people.
• Get involved in EU, national and regional maritime/transport projects.
• Encourage promotion and innovation of related projects which can be commercialised.

”MDCE is actually a former EU project, which has continued after the funding ended. We have navigated through stormy weather and have come out on the other side as a healthy organisation with a strong and committed Board. Today, we are visible on the maritime scene, both here in Denmark, but also in the EU through our participation in national and international projects. When you get to a stage where others begin to look over your shoulder, you have become an important and reliable collaborator, and we can only be pleased about this”, says Mr. Sabinsky.
MDCE is always interested in adding to the existing project volume, but is especially attracted to the NMU project due to the fact that it lies close to the very bedrock of the Center, namely to facilitate knowledge and ensure the development of human capital. NMU is also appealing due to the fact that it has a direct output that can enhance knowledge. Also, it is becoming fashionable to create shorter education options which can provide opportunities for build-on learning modules, and the NMU project accommodates this perfectly. Mr. Sabinsky looks forward to working with the other partners in the consortium and sees them as strong contributors to the competence development of the maritime transport sector. He always finds it interesting to be an active part of a process where cultural differences are utilised in projects that can amplify trans-national efforts in promoting a sustainable and a competitive EU. As a development centre, MDCE aims to be an objective catalyst in creating synergies in the maritime industry, and “The products within NMU can be an inspiration for new projects and assist the maritime industry in addressing the many challenges that they are presented with on a day-to-day basis” adds Mr. Sabinsky.
Mr. Sabinsky enjoys cooperating with maritime academics and has found this very beneficial. In his opinion, there is a lot of relevant knowledge in the field of maritime academics that needs to be harvested and disseminated in the industry. “We have done a lot over the past years to shorten the distance between academics and the industry and assist in mutual benefits for both researchers and industry and the NMU project has similar interests that are appealing to MDCE”. MDCE has employed employed senior researcher and Ph.D. Fellow Lisa L. Froholdt as NMU project responsible.

It is necessary to think differently in order to address future challenges and sustain a position in the global shipping economy. In order to do this, relevant tools and synergies within the EU are needed, in order to be competitive. “Everybody has something to contribute with and we need to address the challenges collaboratively” says Mr. Sabinsky.
MDCE entered the consortium as of 1st March and will be contributing in creating learning modules within human resources and cross-cultural man¬agement.

For more information please visit the website: www.maritimecenter.dk