Sovren Nautical Academy Roles Out Virtual Classroom Courses

In March this year, Sovren Group acquired Aigua Sea School in Palma de Mallorca to launch a new era of the Sovren Nautical Academy in Palma and Barcelona.

Shortly after the acquisition, the pandemic struck and all schools were closed through Spain and most of Europe. Undeterred, the Sovren Nautical Academy team set about quickly taking all the courses online into a virtual classroom (where remote learning is possible).

Encouraged by the support of the world-class instructors and student feedback, Sovren Nautical Academy launched its ‘virtual classroom’ in April, and has successfully rolled out STCW and Yachtmaster modules to happy students worldwide.

Helen Warren, Director of Sovren Nautical Academy comments: ‘’Of course one of the major advantages of the virtual classroom is that you can take part in these courses from anywhere in the world. Over the last six weeks we have trained yacht crew who are currently in a number of European countries around the Med, UK, Netherlands, South Africa, South America and the States! Our team has worked tirelessly to make these virtual courses happen and the responses from students have been overwhelming.

“I would like to thank our instructors, examining bodies, the in-house team, and our students, for making virtual classroom courses a reality; and such a success.”

The general sentiment from students has been very positive. The following statement is a recent testimonial that echos the overall feedback we have received from both the MI accredited PDSD / PSA, and RYA accredited Yachtmaster courses we have been running virtually: “I think the online course has the big advantage that it provides flexibility to students. You can be learning anywhere so it brings the opportunity to students worldwide. In the online classroom you get the information in a practical and visual way that allows you to easier understand. The interaction with your instructor is more direct; in standard classrooms students may not ask questions due to shyness, or perhaps English is not their first language, and I think this platform helps students to deliver questions and opinions whilst removing any insecurities.”

“We are looking forward to continuing with the virtual classroom courses in parallel to our classroom and practical courses, as accrediting bodies will allow, when the schools reopen,” adds Warren.