Under the background of accelerating the construction of a maritime power

Research on the path of cultivating ocean awareness among military academy students

Qu Zhongdang, Li Min

【Abstract】With the acceleration of globalization and changes in national strategic needs, the ocean has become a focal point of competition among countries. As an important component of national strategic resources, the ocean plays an increasingly significant role in areas such as national economic development, national defense security, technological advancement, and environmental protection. The military, as a crucial safeguard for national security, bears a pivotal role in the process of building a strong maritime nation. Military academies, as nurseries for cultivating high-quality professional military personnel, play a vital role in strengthening the cultivation of cadets' marine awareness, which is an important way to achieve national strategic goals. This article analyzes the connotation of marine awareness and its role in national strategy, combined with the actual education in military academies, proposes specific cultivation paths, aiming to contribute to the construction of a strong maritime nation.

【Keywords】Marine Awareness丨Military Academies丨Training Pathways

The ocean, as the largest ecosystem on Earth, is abundant in biological and mineral resources, serving as a crucial space for human survival and development. With the deepening of human utilization and exploration of the ocean, it has become a new space, domain, and driving force for national economic and social development, playing a significant role in promoting economic growth, safeguarding national security, and protecting international rights and interests. Military academies, as cradles for nurturing future national military talents, have a direct impact on the effectiveness of national maritime strategies through the awareness and cultivation of their cadets' ocean consciousness. Therefore, researching and exploring the paths to cultivate the ocean consciousness of military academy cadets holds very important practical significance.

I. The Connotation and Importance of Marine Awareness

Marine awareness refers to people's cognition, concern level, and the thoughts and actions regarding the utilization and protection of the ocean. It encompasses several aspects such as marine transportation, marine resources, marine environmental protection, marine culture, marine strategy, and peaceful oceans.

(1) Maritime Traffic Awareness

Marine traffic awareness refers to the recognition and understanding of maritime traffic environments, rules, safety, and their importance. It encompasses knowledge of marine natural environments such as weather conditions, currents, and tides, as well as awareness of international maritime regulations, local navigation rules, and ship operation safety. Ensuring safe maritime navigation and smooth sea traffic routes is the core of marine traffic awareness.

(2) Awareness of Marine Resources

Marine resource awareness refers to the understanding, values, and behavioral tendencies towards the ocean and its resources. It primarily involves recognizing the importance of marine resources and how to achieve their sustainable utilization. The development and utilization of marine resources have profound impacts on a country's economic development, national defense security, technological advancement, and environmental protection.

(III) Marine Environmental Protection Awareness

The ocean is the largest ecosystem on Earth, playing an irreplaceable role in global climate and biodiversity. The awareness of marine environmental protection emphasizes the importance of preserving marine ecosystems and maintaining marine biodiversity, pointing out the damage to ecosystems caused by issues such as marine pollution and overfishing, and advocating for sustainable utilization of marine resources.

(IV) Awareness of Marine Culture

The ocean has a profound impact on the social and cultural aspects of coastal regions, with many societies' customs, cultural traditions, and lifestyles closely intertwined with the sea. The awareness of maritime culture calls for recognition of this cultural connection, promoting the inheritance and development of maritime culture, and enhancing society's sense of belonging and responsibility towards the ocean.

(V) Maritime Strategic Awareness

Marine strategic awareness is primarily reflected in national defense, the maintenance of maritime boundaries, effective monitoring of the sea area, and the protection of national interests in international affairs. Marine strategic awareness emphasizes that the ocean is a crucial strategic space and a treasure trove of resources for the nation, playing a significant role in safeguarding national sovereignty, promoting economic development, ensuring food and energy security, and addressing global challenges.

(VI) Awareness of a Peaceful Ocean

Peaceful Ocean Awareness is primarily based on the concept of building a harmonious maritime world, promoting maritime cooperation, and sharing marine resources to address the growing global challenges in the maritime domain. It advocates for cooperation and mutual benefit among countries in marine economic activities, including fisheries, shipping, and the exploration and development of seabed resources, through regional and global cooperation mechanisms to enhance economic mutual benefit among nations. It emphasizes resolving maritime disputes through international law and regional cooperation mechanisms, avoiding conflicts and confrontations, maintaining maritime stability, and ensuring the freedom and safety of sea lanes.

II. Pathways for Marine Awareness Cultivation among Military Academy Cadets

Institutions should establish a systematic marine education system that spans from basic education to specialized education, and from theoretical learning to practical operations. This system should not only include curriculum teaching but also extracurricular scientific and technological activities, social practice, and academic exchanges. The training process should implement a step-by-step training model, starting with the popularization of marine awareness in the early stages of enrollment, followed by professional skill training in the middle stages, and culminating in the enhancement of practical abilities in the graduation phase, forming a complete training chain. This ensures that students comprehensively master marine strategic knowledge and skills, experience marine sentiments throughout the entire process, and cultivate marine awareness through multiple channels and in an all-round way.

(1) Strengthen the educational effect of marine awareness in classroom teaching.

Establish a systematic curriculum education system. Military academies should reform their course offerings by constructing a comprehensive marine awareness education curriculum system, integrating basic marine knowledge, marine technology, marine laws and regulations, marine security, marine economy, marine culture, and marine strategy into required or elective courses. At the same time, establish a mechanism for updating course content to ensure real-time updates. Our country has invested significant human and material resources in the exploration and research of the ocean, resulting in a continuous flow of research achievements and outstanding marine figures, providing a theoretical knowledge base for marine awareness education. In classroom teaching, incorporate the latest research findings and the stories of advanced figures to bring marine awareness education into the classroom.

Strengthen the practical teaching links. In conjunction with military realities, enrich the content of practical teaching. Through activities such as sea internships, sea training, strategic exercises, and field research, enable students to learn marine knowledge, experience marine life, hone operational skills, and enhance marine awareness in practice. Enhance school-enterprise cooperation, establish partnerships with marine-related enterprises, research institutions, and naval bases, jointly develop practical teaching resources, and provide students with field trips, marine observations, marine resource development, and marine exploration sites, enriching students' practical experience. Organize students to participate in various forms of marine practice activities such as marine scientific research, marine environmental protection projects, simulated marine rights protection, and volunteer services, allowing students to understand the importance of the ocean in practice, deepen their emotional identification with the ocean, and enhance their marine awareness.

(2) Make full use of digital resources and modern information technology

Utilizing modern information technology tools such as online platforms and virtual simulation, and coordinating internal and external resources, we construct an open and interconnected resource-sharing mechanism, creating a favorable situation where high-quality resources are concentrated for use, thereby enhancing the effectiveness and efficiency of marine awareness cultivation. Through online education platforms such as NetEase Open Courses, learners can study marine-related courses from around the world without time or geographical constraints, strengthening their marine awareness. Establishing online laboratories and simulated experimental environments, using virtual reality and augmented reality technologies to construct virtual marine environments, allows learners to engage with marine life, understand underwater topography, marine technology, and marine environmental issues through simulated experiments, enhancing their sense of experience and immersion, and raising their awareness of marine protection. We also establish specialized digital resource libraries for marine science and marine culture, collecting and organizing electronic books, scientific research reports, and teaching videos related to marine disciplines, available for free or at low cost to learners and educators.

(III) A rich campus cultural atmosphere imbued with the scent of the sea

Organize large-scale marine science popularization campaigns. Continue to effectively organize World Oceans Day and National Marine Awareness Day promotional activities, hold marine-themed lectures and seminars, invite marine science experts and scholars to share knowledge; set up exhibitions related to the ocean, such as marine science knowledge exhibitions, marine art exhibitions, and marine photography exhibitions; organize marine-related knowledge competitions, reward outstanding participants and groups in marine activities, stimulate students' enthusiasm, foster a good atmosphere of understanding the ocean on campus, and create a new upsurge in learning marine knowledge.

Strengthen the dissemination and promotion of marine knowledge. The dissemination of marine knowledge should utilize all available publicity methods, such as radio, television, newspapers, the internet, and books, to systematically carry out marine education in schools, popularize marine knowledge, create an atmosphere of comprehensive and multi-layered marine knowledge education, and foster an environment where marine knowledge is omnipresent. This will cultivate a culturally enriching marine atmosphere that inspires teachers and students' interest and love for the ocean, achieving the normalization and daily routine of marine knowledge education. This will allow students to feel the beauty and charm of the ocean in their daily lives, enhancing their marine awareness.

(IV) Strengthen the construction of the teaching staff and enhance marine education capabilities

Strengthening the construction of marine education faculty is key to improving the quality and effectiveness of marine education. By collaborating among universities, research institutions, and industry, we can cultivate and introduce educational talents with backgrounds in marine science, marine engineering, marine biology, and related fields. Regular professional training should be provided for faculty, covering the latest marine scientific knowledge, educational techniques, and more. Through continuing education, faculty can continuously update their knowledge and enhance their teaching abilities. Encouraging and supporting interdisciplinary education and research is essential to cultivate interdisciplinary talents capable of integrating multiple disciplines to solve marine problems. This requires faculty not only to have deep professional knowledge but also a broad disciplinary background and comprehensive abilities. Increasing practical and internship opportunities for faculty, through participation in marine research projects, field surveys, laboratory work, and other forms, can enhance their practical experience and teaching quality. Creating an open, inclusive, and innovation-encouraging work environment is crucial. It encourages faculty to actively explore new teaching methods and technologies, utilizing digital and multimedia resources to enrich teaching content and improve teaching effectiveness.

III. Conclusion

Building a strong maritime nation is an integral part of the national strategy. Military academies, as crucial bases for cultivating military talents, play a significant role in enhancing cadets' awareness of the ocean. By constructing a systematic training system, strengthening the integration of theory and practice, fully utilizing modern information technology, integrating digital resources, enriching campus maritime cultural life, and reinforcing the construction of the teaching staff, the maritime awareness of military academy cadets can be effectively enhanced, contributing to the construction of a strong maritime nation. In the future, military academies should further explore innovative educational models and methods, improve the cadets' maritime awareness cultivation mechanisms, and achieve the sustainability and efficiency of maritime awareness education, laying a solid foundation for cultivating high-quality military talents who can meet the future maritime strategic needs.

references

Zhang Kunmin, Wang Hongbing, Wu Yong, et al. Optimization Paths for Cultivating College Students' Marine Awareness under the Background of Accelerating the Construction of a Marine Power. Marine Development and Management,,()-.

Wu Qinglin. Reflections on College Students' Marine Awareness and Its Education. Theoretical Observation, ().

Hu Yiyun, Shao Feng, Jin Yunliang. Pathways to Cultivating National Marine Awareness under New Media Technology. Special Zone Economy, ()-.

Feng Junying. Cultivating Maritime Awareness among Maritime Vocational Students under the Background of the Ocean Power Strategy. Journal of Heilongjiang Vocational Institute of Ecological Engineering,,()-.

Wang Yongzhi, An Jiejing. Exploration of Pathways for Cultivating College Students' Marine Awareness. Western Journal of Studies, ()-.

Enter the mini program and give a thumbs-up to the papers you like!

Editor of this issue: Chen Luyang

This issue reviewed by: Lin Yingxi

Layout Design: Zhou Kaikai

Article Source: "China Military-to-Civilian Magazine"

Collaboration Email: .

Submission email: .