INRTU Launches Navigation School to Train Geospecialists for Marine Research
Over 50 students at INRTU’s Navigation School will receive certificates for skippers, which can be submitted to the GIMS (State Inspectorate for Small Vessels of EMERCOM of Russia) to take exams for the right to operate motor, sailing, and motor-sailing vessels. It is planned that next spring they will launch the university’s first cruising yacht at the 17th kilometer of the Baikal Highway.
The supplementary education program was initiated by INRTU’s Vice-Rector for Geology, Earth Sciences and Environment, ISSA Inshore Skipper (international coastal yacht captain) Alexander Parshin. He explained the need to open the Navigation School by the expansion of the Siberian School of Geosciences’ research and commercial work, including in water body areas. Thanks to the new course, students and faculty will learn to independently operate vessels and ensure safety during marine geo-research. As a result, INRTU will be able to organize its own research fleet on Lake Baikal.
“The format of the Navigation School is a modern reinterpretation of the traditions of the Irkutsk Navigation School, founded in 1745. Our educational programs ‘Geophysical Information Systems’, ‘Geophyscial methods of mineral deposit prospecting and exploration’, ‘Information Technologies in Earth and Environmental Sciences’ contain sections dedicated to marine research. The new master’s degree program ‘Environmental Science and Engineering’ includes a comprehensive program for continuous hydrogeochemical monitoring of the Irkutsk Reservoir and the southern part of Lake Baikal. Our joint project with colleagues from China, ‘Baikal, the Pearl of the World’, also requires lengthy water expeditions. All this demonstrates the necessity of creating the Navigation School.
INRTU has developed and approved the training program for skippers of ‘Small Sailing and Motor Vessels’, which fully complies with the Russian regulatory framework. This is a rare, if not unique, practice: the training centers we know only provide training for motor vessels.
Cruising yachts were chosen as the foundation of the research fleet for a reason. It is important for us to minimize environmental impact in any geological research and conduct work as safely as possible. Furthermore, a certified skill in handling cruising yachts will allow graduates to rent a sailing boat for research in almost any corner of the world, and also stay in shape by competing between expeditions as part of the calendar of the Irkutsk Region Sailing Federation. I myself once spent a lot of time on expeditions across Baikal. It's an incredible life experience, and I want our students to have a similar one”,
said Alexander Parshin
The program is based on practices for preparing to take exams for Russian (GIMS, IWW) and international (ISSA) qualifications for crew members and captains of motor and sailing-motor vessels. Classes are taught by athletes and experienced specialists. Among the lecturers of the INRTU Navigation School are Russian sailing championship prize-winner Sergey Dyuzhakov and Chairman of the Irkutsk Region Sailing Federation Alexey Borovik. Medical professionals teach the students first aid. Alexander Parshin will conduct classes on preparation and certification for ISSA licenses, the practice of chartering vessels in foreign jurisdictions, and international navigation in tidal conditions.
First-year student and future hydrogeologist Olga Lyuboslavskaya shared her impressions of studying at the Navigation School.
“In autumn, together with friends, we participated in a regatta, stepping onto a sailing yacht for the first time. It was an unforgettable experience. Later we learned about the Navigation School and, without hesitation, decided to enroll. We were introduced to yacht rigging and theory, the architecture and design of sailing vessels. Lectures can be attended both online and in person, which is very convenient. In the summer, I will apply the skills during my fieldwork at the ‘Chernorud’ geological training ground,” Olga Lyuboslavskaya shared her plans.
