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Project Connect has officially released the documented evaluation results for its flagship educational initiative, the Adopt a Ship™ program, for the 2025–2026 school year, by the program’s developer and Educational Consultant, Dr. Adamantia Spanaka: “Based on a robust, multi-layered evaluation framework spanning three (3) consecutive phases (initial, formative, and final) and source triangulation across both students and educators, this year’s findings highlight the program’s undeniable role in shaping future maritime professionals for Greece.”
Backed by the Greek shipowners and maritime service companies, the program serves as a vital bridge, welcoming fresh talent and forging a deep, meaningful connection between young students, Greek shipping, and the rich seamanship heritage of Greece, (“Naftosini”) and which distinguishes this version from the others. It actively fosters industry outreach and demonstrates undeniable, measurable effectiveness in the classroom.
In this program, communication is organized at class-and-ship level, with a small number of students per ship and regular e-mail correspondence throughout the implementation period, anywhere from four to six months.
Project Connect’s main strength is that it systematically evaluates its Adopt a Ship™ program from the beginning to end of the school period. During the initial phase, it collected data from 5,026 students and 158 teachers – during the formative evaluation, from 150 teachers - and during the final evaluation, from 5,240 students, 218 classes, and 171 teachers.
Strategic Outcomes
During the 2025–2026 academic year, the Adopt a Ship™ program achieved exceptional milestones:
- Maritime Education Pathways: 311 Vocational School (EPAL) students successfully entered Merchant Marine Academies (AEN) and Maritime University Departments over this and the last two years.
- Maritime Literacy Surge: The growing impact of Maritime Education on young minds who understand that vessels are the main driver of international trade skyrocketed from 34.6% to 94.9%.
- Career Orientation: A remarkable 47.1% of students (55.7% in primary schools, 30.1% in middle schools) expressed a keen interest in pursuing a career within the maritime sector.
- Dispelling Myths: Misconceptions regarding onboard roles, (such as the accountants work on cargo ships), were virtually eliminated, replaced by accurate recognition of captains (95.7%) and engineers (87.7%).
- Inclusion & Equality: An overwhelming 94.9% of students now voice support for women taking on leadership roles at sea, such as ship captains.
- Direct Career Intent: Exactly 383 students, 33.4% of whom are young girls, stated a definitive, personal intention to follow a maritime career path.
- Technical School Integration: The program successfully reached 5.3% of all vocational high schools across the country (26 schools with nautical orientation), with 91.3% of participating technical educators confirming a strong, genuine enthusiasm among their students.
The Voice of the Educational Community
The pedagogical integrity of the program is best reflected by the teachers themselves, who rated the curriculum’s Study Guide an outstanding 3.8 out of 4. Over 60% of educators (61.3%) dedicate 1 to 2 classroom hours weekly, seamlessly weaving the program into subjects like Language, Geography, English, and Skills Workshops.
Overall, the most significant finding is that students begin to organize their geographic thinking through a maritime lens: first the oceans, then the continents, and subsequently the countries. Thus, Geography emerges as the understanding of the world as a network of seas connecting the continents, precisely the perspective that lies at the very core of the Adopt a Ship™ program.
Adopt a Ship (AaS) Platform
Through the dedicated AaSoP digital platform, students and crews exchanged 1,527 messages across 192 active channels. Notably, nearly 3 in 4 of these connections (71.9%) blossomed into sustained, long-term dialogues consisting of five or more e-mail exchanges per class. This ongoing communication with captains and crew breathes life into textbooks, turning abstract theory into a vibrant, real-world experience.
A Call to Action for the Greek Shipping Community
The data speaks for itself. Adopt a Ship™ by Project Connect, is far more than an educational exercise, it is a proven lifeline connecting our schools directly to the heart of Greek shipping. Project Connect invites the entire Greek maritime community and industry stakeholders to continue to embrace and champion its mission. By doing so, they are directly investing in the sustainability and future of their industry, strengthening and evolving their own workforce with talented, energetic young minds eager to build a life at sea!
If you would like your company to “adopt” a classroom and become part of Project Connect, or to review the Educational Evaluation Report, please contact at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Backed by the Greek shipowners and maritime service companies, the program serves as a vital bridge, welcoming fresh talent and forging a deep, meaningful connection between young students, Greek shipping, and the rich seamanship heritage, (“Naftosyni”).
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