Management, vision, mission

The Estonian Maritime Academy of Tallinn University of Technology (EMERA) is a school-level academic structural unit of Tallinn University of Technology, which operates on the same principles as a school. EMERA has all of the rights and obligations of a school and a department, except where otherwise provided by the statutes of the University or the statutes of EMERA.

EMERA is the only internationally recognised competence centre of its kind in Estonia, providing multi-level maritime education and cultivating maritime research and development.

The history of EMERA goes back more than 100 years: on October 27, 1919, teaching began at the Tallinn Maritime School (Tallinna Merekool), which is considered to be the predecessor of EMERA. In 1991, the Estonian Maritime Education Centre (Eesti Merehariduskeskus) was established from Tallinn Maritime School, Tallinn Maritime College (Tallinna Merekolledž), and Tallinn Vocational Upper Secondary School No. 1 (Tallinna Kutsekeskkool nr 1), and in 1999 it was renamed the Estonian Maritime Academy. In 2014, the Estonian Maritime Academy was incorporated into the Tallinn University of Technology. Since 2017, EMERA has operated as a school-level structural unit of the University.

EMERA teaches in 4 higher education programmes and two master's and one doctoral programme. 

Our aim is to contribute to providing a first-class and internationally recognised education with high-tech facilities, while keeping alive the noble maritime traditions. Our graduates are highly respected and paid leaders and professionals at sea and on shore.

EMERA first set out to improve its management system and implement a quality management system in 1999. The requirement for all institutions providing maritime education to develop, implement, and certify a quality management system was one of the major amendments to the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW), adopted by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) on 7 July 1995. The deadline for implementation of the requirements was 1 February 2002. The corresponding quality management system certificate was issued to EMERA by the certification body Lloyd’s Register in 2001. EMERA’s quality management system has been developed and implemented in accordance with the requirements of the ISO 9001:2015 quality management system standard published by the International Organisation for Standardization (ISO) and has been certified since 2020 by the certification body Bureau Veritas. An internal audit, a management review and an external audit of EMERA's quality management system, as required by the standard, are carried out annually. The quality management system certificate is issued on the basis of a (re)certification audit for a period of three years, with regular control audits carried out by the certification body in the second and third year.

Quality policy

EMERA’s mission is to train highly recognised experts in the maritime domain, to contribute to maritime research and development, and to provide services for the maritime sector.

EMERA’s vision is to grow into an internationally recognised centre of excellence in the maritime domain.

EMERA’s values are:

• professionalism and reliability – people working with us value self-development, participate actively in learning, research, and innovation, and respect maritime traditions;
• enterprisingness and innovation – we use modern technologies, apply flexible learning methods, and take into account society’s expectations for maritime education;
• openness and readiness to cooperate – we are open to good ideas and cooperate with partners and maritime companies in consideration of their needs.

EMERA’s quality policy is as follows:

• we will comply with the requirements applicable to us to ensure the international recognition of EMERA graduates and our research and development activities;
• we will implement a transparent management system operating on common principles and based on continual improvement, we will use modern management techniques and tools, we will be guided by risk-based and process-based thinking;
• we will strive to increase client satisfaction through client-centric action as well as understanding and meeting clients’ needs and seeking to exceed their expectations.

Governance structure

The academic decision-making body of EMERA is the EMERA Council, the membership and powers of which are set out in EMERA’s statutes and the organisation of work of which is set out in the rules of procedure of the EMERA Council. The membership of the EMERA Council is approved by the Rector of the University for up to three years on the proposal of the Director of EMERA.

EMERA’s top management consists of the Director of EMERA and the Director’s deputies (vice-deans in the context of the University): the Study Director, the Director of Development, and the Quality Manager. The Director of EMERA is Roomet Leiger. In the context of the University, the Director of EMERA has all of the rights and obligations of a dean and a head of a department, except where otherwise provided in the statutes of the University or in the statutes of EMERA.

The advisory body to the Director of EMERA is the Directorate, the membership and organisation of work are set out in the rules of procedure of the Directorate. The members of the Directorate constitute EMERA’s management.

EMERA’s structure and the bases for the activities of its centres are approved by the Director. The bases for the activities of an EMERA centre establish the areas of activity, purpose, functions, structure, management, and the rules for holding of assets and financing of the centre.

As of September 1, 2022, the structure of the Estonian Maritime Academy is as follows:

• Centre of Maritime Education and Training
• Infrastructure Centre
• Centre of Academic Affairs
   
• Research Groups
  • Centre for Maritime Cybersecurity
  • Maritime Transport Research Group
  • Green Maritime Technology Research Group
  • Blue Economy and Aquatic Resources Research Group