City of Glasgow College Welcomes HRH The Duke of Edinburgh

City of Glasgow College was honoured to welcome HRH The Duke of Edinburgh to its Riverside Campus yesterday for a visit to engage with Merchant Navy cadets, tour the College's world-leading maritime education and training facilities and meet with the Honourable Company of Master Mariners.

His Royal Highness was welcomed by the College's Principal and Chief Executive, Dr Paul Little CBE DL, alongside Lord Lieutenant of Glasgow, Dr Jacqueline McLaren. During the visit, His Royal Highness met with senior members of the Honourable Company of Master Mariners, including Commodore Duncan Lamb, Captain Chris McDade, Captain Donald Lucas and Captain Millar, Honorary Secretary of the Clyde Outport.

The visit provided an opportunity for His Royal Highness to meet Navigation and Engineering cadets supported by Trinity House and the Honourable Company of Master Mariners. He heard first-hand about their experiences preparing for careers at sea, enjoyed learning about their sea-time adventures in the Arctic, the North Sea and the Caribbean, and gained an insight into how City of Glasgow College is equipping the next generation of Merchant Navy officers.

A highlight of the visit was a tour of the College's state-of-the-art Shipping Simulator Hub, where His Royal Highness took the helm of a container ship entering port in Singapore using cutting-edge simulation technology that is transforming global maritime education and training.

Home to 13 of the most advanced maritime bridge simulators of their kind anywhere, the College's simulator suite features Wärtsilä full mission bridge simulators, an integrated engine room simulator and immersive 360-degree visual technology that recreates highly realistic operating environments. The facilities enable cadets and serving maritime professionals to develop, practise and assess complex navigational, engineering and emergency response skills safely ashore, preparing them for the challenges of modern global shipping while supporting innovation across the wider maritime sector.

Dr Paul Little CBE DL, Principal and Chief Executive of City of Glasgow College, said:

"Yesterday's visit marked a second visit by His Royal Highness and builds on a long and proud royal association with maritime education in Glasgow that spans more than half a century. In 1969, Admiral of the Fleet Lord Louis Mountbatten officially opened the original College of Nautical Studies on this very site, marking the beginning of a remarkable chapter in Scotland's illustrious maritime education story. We look forward to inviting him back for a longer visit when we can brief him on our cutting-edge applied maritime research with our US and Japanese marine university partners.

"Fifty years later, Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal returned to commemorate that important milestone before visiting us again in 2023 to learn more about our work supporting the delivery of the UK Shipbuilding Skills Taskforce recommendations. It is a privilege to continue that tradition as we showcase how City of Glasgow College is preparing the next generation of seafarers and maritime professionals using some of the most advanced training facilities anywhere in Europe.

"We are immensely proud that well over 40% of the UK's Merchant Navy cadets undertake their education and training with City of Glasgow College, which is pioneering cadet modernisation. Through a symbiotic partnership approach with the global shipping industry, we are equipping future officers with the navigation, marine engineering and electro-technical skills, experience and confidence they will need to flourish in a modern, innovative and globally competitive maritime sector. Today, City of Glasgow College trains Merchant Navy, Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary personnel from its Maritime Centre of Excellence on the banks of the River Clyde."