This paper presents a novel education and training model that dissolves traditional boundaries between higher education, professional training, research activity, and industry practice within offshore aquaculture engineering. While offshore aquaculture is expanding rapidly, education systems have struggled to align academic learning, workforce training, and safety critical practice in coherent and mutually reinforcing ways. The framework reported here addresses this gap through an integrated, research embedded learning architecture.
The model is implemented within a five-year international offshore aquaculture project that commenced in September 2025 and is structured around layered knowledge transfer between academics, students, industry specialists, and end users. A higher education strand led by Queen Mary University of London, the National Technical University of Athens, and the Indian Institute of Technology Madras delivers joint Master level research projects, shared supervision, and coordinated guest lectures. International peer-learning is central, with students from different institutions engaging collaboratively with common engineering challenges, enabling comparative study and exposure to diverse professional contexts.
In parallel, an end-user training strand led by Wenzhou Vocational College of Science and Technology delivers hands-on, field-based learning for offshore aquaculture operators. Structured interaction between students and end-users supports experiential learning and reciprocal knowledge exchange. Industry partners including AKVA-Group, Griffon-Marine, Astra-Ryba and BFP-Tech contribute operational data, case-based learning, and specialist expertise across both strands.
By positioning education as a shared, co-produced activity across academia and practice, this approach offers a transferable model for quality education and skills development aligned with UN Sustainable Development Goals 4 and 8.

Authors:
Eldad Avital, Queen Mary University of London, United Kingdom
Mouna Chetehouna, Queen Mary University of London, United Kingdom
Ioannis Chatjigeorgiou, National Technical University of Athens, Greece
Dimitrios Konispoliatis, National Technical University of Athens, Greece
Abdus Samad, IIT Madras, India
Guoxu Niu, Wenzhou Vocational College of Science and Technology, China

About the Presenter(s)
Dr Eldad Avital is Reader in Fluids and Acoustics and Aerospace Programme Director at Queen Mary University of London. A Senior Fellow of Advance HE, he integrates research and industry collaboration into innovative engineering education.

Connect on Linkedin
https://uk.linkedin.com/in/eldad-avital-3381971

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