Transport Canada, which is responsible for the country’s transportation policies and programmes, has now reviewed and approved several courses in Canadian schools and training centres which use KDI’s cloud-based simulators to conduct blended learning.

The widespread adoption of KDI’s simulation solutions throughout Canada is the latest achievement in a massively successful rollout of simulator training which has seen approximately 30,000 simulations being deployed since the first quarter of 2020, when the company made several of its high-fidelity simulators available as eLearning modules via its digital platform, K-Sim Connect.

Accessible via any web browser and simple to use, the cloud simulation allows instructors to upload, manage and distribute exercises as well as download assessment files enabling them to issue personal feedback to individual students, who can train repeatably anytime and anywhere.

While the British Columbia Institute of Technology has pioneered the use of KDI’s eLearning solution for Thermal Power Plant training, several Canadian Marine Training Institutes have been using the cutting-edge K-Sim Engine eLearning solution for engine room courses.

Thomas Aulinger, director of the Centre for Marine Training and Research (CMTR) at Georgian College, is enthusiastic about the effectiveness of KDI’s engine room simulators and the K-Sim Connect portal in live virtual classroom sessions. CMTR conducted the very first blended Power Propulsion Simulation courses using in-cloud simulation.

“Giving our students the opportunity to participate in a virtual classroom, while exercising on their individual K-Sim Engine simulators, actually created an improved learning environment beyond the traditional physical classroom session,” he said. “While interrelating in the virtual classroom, student communication and information sharing actually exceeded previous in-classroom interactions. The K-Sim Connect solution has proved itself to be an outstanding digital learning platform.”

Darrell Gouthro, CCGC onsite capital project manager at the Canadian Coast Guard College, endorses the use of eLearning solutions for radar training. “Hours of radar time can be built up much more quickly this way than by using full-size simulators or by undertaking live practice on board ship,” he commented. “The extra training time the K-Sim eLearning solution allows students on the use of controls, while also enabling them to hone their ability to interpret radar images, identify targets and so on, will improve their confidence and skills at a rate which would not have been possible before now.”

“It is very satisfying to see our K-Sim Connect eLearning solutions continuing to receive recognition from an ever-increasing number of maritime institutes,” added Andreas Jagtøyen, EVP, digital ocean, Kongsberg Digital. “We’re continuing to build more content on the platform, with the recently-launched radar training solution and a forthcoming eLearning module for ECDIS training scheduled for launch in the second quarter of this year. We feel very confident that we are playing a vital part in helping the industry to smoothly achieve its digital transition.”