Hogere Zeevaartschool Antwerpen
Encyclopedia
The Antwerp Maritime Academy (Dutch: Hogere Zeevaartschool Antwerpen) is a university college in Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

, located in the north of Antwerp.

Future officers of the Merchant Navy
Merchant Navy
The Merchant Navy is the maritime register of the United Kingdom, and describes the seagoing commercial interests of UK-registered ships and their crews. Merchant Navy vessels fly the Red Ensign and are regulated by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency...

 and Belgian Navy are educated here. The Antwerp Maritime Academy is the only Vocational university
Vocational university
A vocational university is an institution of higher education and sometimes research, which provides both tertiary and sometimes quaternary education and grants academic degrees at all levels in a variety of subjects...

 in Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

 allowed to teach in both Vernaculars
Vernacular
A vernacular is the native language or native dialect of a specific population, as opposed to a language of wider communication that is not native to the population, such as a national language or lingua franca.- Etymology :The term is not a recent one...

, being Dutch and French.

There are two sections at the academy: Nautical science and Marine engineering
Marine engineering
In maritime transportation, the engine department or engineering department is an organizational unit aboard a ship that is responsible for the operating the propulsion systems and the support systems for crew, passengers and cargo. This work is carried out by marine engineering officers who...

.
  • Marine engineering
    Marine engineering
    In maritime transportation, the engine department or engineering department is an organizational unit aboard a ship that is responsible for the operating the propulsion systems and the support systems for crew, passengers and cargo. This work is carried out by marine engineering officers who...

    : results in a Bachelor's Degree
    Bachelor's degree
    A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...

     in Marine Engineering after a three-year cycle.
  • Nautical science: results in a Bachelor's Degree
    Bachelor's degree
    A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...

     in Nautical Sciences after a three-year cycle. To obtain a Master's Degree
    Master's degree
    A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...

     in Nautical Sciences a second, one-year cycle is required.

The Bachelor's and Master's Degree in Nautical Sciences are multidimensional: technical subjects combined with languages, economics, (maritime) medicine and (international) law.

The courses do not only have to comply with regulations set by the local education authorities, they have to meet stringent international and quality-standard requirements set by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO).

The Antwerp Maritime Academy is, because of her specific profile, the smallest academy in Flanders with ca. 670 students http://www.hzs.be/html_NL/ontdek-studieaanbod.html.

History

Already in the 14th century marine officers were trained in Antwerp.

Napoleon Bonaparte founded an academy in 1814. Napoleon's plan was to make Antwerp a base of operations against England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, together with major changes in the harbor, a renewed training for his officers was part of making "Scheldt
Scheldt
The Scheldt is a 350 km long river in northern France, western Belgium and the southwestern part of the Netherlands...

 and Antwerp, a gun pointed at the heart of England."


In 1834 the academy was refounded under the Belgian regime. Initially the courses were given only in French. The school fell under the Ministry of Transport because "the rules of the road
International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea
The International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea 1972 are published by the International Maritime Organization , and set out, inter alia, the "rules of the road" or navigation rules to be followed by ships and other vessels at sea in order to prevent collisions between two or more...

" were a major part of the curriculum.

Starting from 1907, each class of first year students in Nautical Sciences is named after a distinguished maritime personality. From 1977 on, this is also done forthe Marine Engineering department.

In 1919 courses were resumed after suspension during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

.

During the Interbellum motorized sea-traffic increased and a separate Dutch section was created at the academy. These changes created the need for a bigger school and a new building in the Van de Velde
Henry van de Velde
Henry Clemens Van de Velde was a Belgian Flemish painter, architect and interior designer. Together with Victor Horta and Paul Hankar he could be considered one of the main founders and representatives of Art Nouveau in Belgium...

-style was inaugurated in 1932.

During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, the German army occupied the building and courses were given at the seamens' house. In 1948 lessons were resumed at the school.
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