Georgian College in Owen Sound has just received a big boost to its international reputation.
The College’s Great Lakes International Marine Training Centre has been loaned a high tech MaK diesel marine engine to to address the impending shortage of qualified marine engineers in Ontario and the Great Lakes marine industry.
Training Centre Director Captain Peter Buel says Seaway Marine Transport has loaned the engine to the college and its manufacturer — Toromont Caterpillar — will provide instructors.
He says in addition, Toromont and Caterpillar are donating four one-thousand scholarships to Georgian for students studying in marine programs.
Buel says this new diesel marine engine program, when combined with the most modern marine simulators in the world moves Georgian College well out in front of any other marine program being offered today.
He says not only will the students at the college benefit from training on this engine, so too will the Marine industry as they don’t have to sent their engineers to Germany to be trained on this specific type of machine.
Buel says many of the lake carriers are retrofitting their vessels, and installing this type of marine engine, and the timing of this donation could not have come at a better time.