Abstract
The paper outlines the special instructional design of International Maritime Management (IMM) which allows active seafarers to combine their work on boa rd vessels with a distance-education university degree course at Master’s level (L7 according to the European Qualifications Framework, EQF). The highly flexible didactic concept of the degree course includes a series of pedagogical elements by which students can enjoy maximum transparency in their learning process. Sea times without a permanent access to the Internet do not hamper the learning progress while students are able to allocate study times in line with their professional duties on board and with family requirements. The general approach is to integrate the students’ professional background into their studies in order to put theories into practice and to reflect on professional matters simultaneously. This integration means that the learners apply the theoretical knowledge they acquire throughout their studies to professional issues they are faced with in their daily work life. All modules are taught entirely in English language. IMM has started in September 2017 after a five-year development and trialling phase. During this trialling period nearly 200 international students were enrolled as test students. The accompanying continuous monitoring process has led to substantial empirical findings of an extensive research into higher education. This re search has not only contributed to a constant improvement of the didactic concept, it has also provided an insight into the learning strategies adopted by participating students.18th Annual General Assembly 2017 International Association of Maritime Universities (IAMU). The paper introduces the didactic concept of IMM including its integral eleme nts of self-assessment to fathom out the students’ perceived knowledge growth and open -book assessment which takes into account the professional environment of its learners. It also presents the findings of the empirical education research carried out including figures on student motivation, typical study workload of active seafarers and student retention issues.