The first meeting of the NMU Project Steering Committee (PSC) and work-package leaders in 2010 took place on the Danish island of Fanø. From 25th to 27th March the project partners met to discuss achieved results and strategic issues of the NMU network.

At the beginning the visit of the port of Esbjerg organized by the host University of Southern Denmark (USD) gave an insight look into the regional port infrastructure.
The NMU partners warmly welcomed Lise Espersen and Christian Zieske from the North Sea Region Programme Secretariat as visitors. Mrs Espersen and Mr Zieske obtained a “live experience” of the fruitful working atmosphere within the NMU consortium.
 
During the meeting, project partners discussed the first results of the second pilot run started in early March. The course “Maritime Transport & the Environment” is a mixture of e-learning and presence sessions with more than 30 participants. The first feedback was very satisfying. Further pilots with students, stakeholders and participants from industry will start within the next weeks in further NMU partner countries. Moreover, Lisa Loloma Froholdt, research assistant and Ph.D. Fellow at the USD, presented the outcome of a forsight exercise conducted earlier this month in Esbjerg. Maritime experts from Denmark gave significant input regarding future scenarios of the development of maritime industry. The results of the forsight exercise are integrated into the NMU product portfolio and strategy to meet demands of maritime industry. The partners also discussed the perspectives of the creation of a sustainable NMU entity after the end of the project time.

The final PSC meeting will take place in autumn in Bremen.