Project Assistant：KUO,CHIA-YU

　　The Taiwan Marine Education Center, Affiliated Keelung Maritime Senior High School of National Taiwan Ocean University (MHOU), and Taiwan Vocational Workshop cohosted the 2023 Marine Career Student Experience Camp. Encompassing both static classroom lectures and dynamic hands-on practice, the camp exposes students to diverse marine careers to expand their horizons regarding their future studies and employment.

　　On the first day of the camp, the students were taught the nutritional content of seaweed and how to make seaweed steamed buns. Next, they were introduced to healthy rice and noodles, allowing them to gain a glimpse of the course content offered by the Food Department of MHOU. Subsequently, they learned about Taiwan’s economically valuable algae farming industry; they used seaweed extracts to make seaweed popping balls—a special delicacy created by the Aquaculture Department of MHOU—and observed a myriad of aquaculture species. On the second day, the students boarded the vessel Yu-Ying No.2, a maritime education training ship, where the ship captain and crew showed them various instruments and equipment on deck, in the bridge, and in the engine control room. The students were taught how to operate radios and perform mooring operations. These activities allowed the students to understand the tasks performed  on deck and in the engine room. Furthermore, the students were able to ask the ship crew questions face-to-face about their experience with working and living on ships.

　　 During the result-sharing stage of the camp, the students’ parents were invited to participate in and witness their children’s accomplishments. One student indicated that the activities of the Food Department were the most enjoyable because cooking was fun. Meanwhile, some students remarked that the visit to Yu-Ying No.2 helped them to realize that there is much more equipment on ships than they had originally thought. The camp allowed the students to experience a variety of marine careers. The goal of the camp was to enable the students to discover their interests and aptitudes and how compatible they were with marine careers, thereby enabling them to determine whether to pursue such careers in their future studies and employment.