Escola Europea presents Port Virtual Lab at the NEXUS International Conference

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Digitalisation & Smart Ports

We took PVL.ONE to NEXUS DGTMP 2026 in Sines and Setúbal

Last week, we joined ports, universities and logistics experts in Sines and Setúbal to talk about digital transformation and the green transition of maritime ports — and to show how immersive simulation is shaping the skills of tomorrow.

22–25 June 2026
Sines & Setúbal, Portugal

We took PVL.ONE on the road. From 22 to 25 June, we joined the NEXUS International Conference – DGTMP 2026 (Digital and Green Transition in Maritime Ports: Trends and Challenges), held in Sines and Setúbal, Portugal, as part of the NEXUS Agenda, a project funded by Portugal’s PRR to drive innovation in transport, logistics and mobility.

The conference brought together universities, port authorities, companies and international experts to discuss one of the sector’s defining challenges: how ports can become both more digital and more sustainable, without leaving people and skills behind.

What we’re presenting

PVL.ONE: simulation as a training ground

We presented PVL.ONE (Port Virtual Lab) and the work we’re doing in immersive learning, simulation and the digitalisation of logistics and port operations. PVL.ONE recreates a port community in a virtual environment, giving learners a space to practise real operational decisions before they ever set foot on a quay.

For us, this is about more than technology. Digital twins and simulation tools only matter if they help people build the skills the ports of the future will actually need — and that was very much the conversation we had in Sines and Setúbal.

Orlando Reveco presenting the Port Virtual Lab platform during the NEXUS Conference

“Digital transformation in logistics is not just about adopting new technologies—it’s about preparing people to use them effectively. With Port Virtual Lab, we create realistic learning environments where participants can develop the practical skills, confidence and collaborative mindset needed to operate in the ports of the future.”

— Orlando Reveco, Digital Product Manager, Escola Europea – Intermodal Transport

About the conference

NEXUS DGTMP 2026

DGTMP 2026 is part of the broader NEXUS Agenda, bringing together academic, institutional and industry voices to explore the digital and green transition of maritime ports. It was exactly the kind of space we like to be in: where innovation, training and real port operations meet.

Event details

22–25 June 2026  ·  Sines & Setúbal, Portugal  ·  Full programme: dgtmp2026.ips.pt

Thank you to everyone who stopped by to see PVL.ONE in action and talk ports, digitalisation and the future of maritime training with us.

Escola Europea explores cooperation with Ibn Zohr University to strengthen logistics education in Morocco

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The Escola Europea – Intermodal Transport continues to strengthen its collaboration with higher education institutions across the Mediterranean. During a recent visit to Agadir, representatives of the Escola met with Ibn Zohr University (Université Ibn Zohr – UIZ) to explore opportunities for cooperation in transport, logistics and international trade education.

The meeting provided an opportunity for both institutions to present their educational activities, exchange experiences, and discuss how closer collaboration could contribute to developing the next generation of logistics professionals in Morocco.

Founded in 1989, Ibn Zohr University is one of Morocco’s largest public universities, serving five regions in the south of the country—Souss-Massa, Guelmim-Oued Noun, Laâyoune-Sakia El Hamra, Dakhla-Oued Ed-Dahab and Drâa-Tafilalet. Through campuses in Agadir, Aït Melloul, Ouarzazate, Taroudant, Laâyoune, Guelmim, Smara and Dakhla, the university plays a key role in higher education and regional development.

The meeting was attended by Hossine El Ihssini, Deputy Director in charge of Pedagogical Affairs, and Fouad Achemchem, Deputy Director for Cooperation, who welcomed Eduard Rodés, Director of the Escola Europea – Intermodal Transport.

From left to right: Fouad Achemchem, Deputy Director for Cooperation; Eduard Rodés, Director of the Escola Europea – Intermodal Transport; and Hossine El Ihssini, Deputy Director in charge of Pedagogical Affairs at Ibn Zohr University, during the meeting held in Agadir to explore future cooperation in logistics and transport education.

During the discussions, the Escola presented its practical approach to logistics education, its international training activities, and its digital learning initiatives, including the Port Virtual Lab (PVL)—the online simulation platform that allows students and professionals to experience international transport operations through realistic, collaborative scenarios.

One of the key topics explored was the potential integration of Ibn Zohr University into the Port Virtual Lab network. Such cooperation would enable students to participate in simulation-based learning activities alongside participants from other universities and professional training programmes, strengthening both their technical knowledge and their international collaboration skills.

Beyond student participation, both institutions also discussed opportunities to involve other organisations from the Agadir region, creating stronger links between academia, industry and the local logistics ecosystem. This collaborative approach reflects a shared commitment to preparing professionals capable of responding to the rapidly evolving challenges facing transport, ports and international supply chains.

The meeting marks an important first step towards building a long-term partnership between the Escola Europea and Ibn Zohr University, further reinforcing the Escola’s mission of promoting practical, international and collaborative education throughout the Mediterranean region.

Phygital learning - theory, simulation and experience

#DidYouKnow: The Future of Education Is Phygital

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Future of Education

Why tomorrow’s learning will be shorter, more simulated, more personalised, and more connected to real professional environments.

By Lidia Slawinska

Written by Lidia Slawinska, Communications Manager – Escola Europea Intermodal Transport

Did you know that the most important classroom of the next decade may not be a classroom at all?

It may be a short online module completed before work. A simulator where a learner can make decisions without real-world risk. A practical workshop where professionals test what they have learned together. A digital platform that follows their progress. A face-to-face discussion where information becomes judgement.

For years, the conversation about education has been framed as a choice between two worlds: online or in person. Digital or physical. Flexible or human. Efficient or experiential.

But I increasingly think this is the wrong question.

The future of education will not be defined by whether learning happens on a screen or in a room. It will be defined by how intelligently we connect different learning spaces. In other words, the future of education is not simply digital. It is phygital.

And no, I do not mean that every course needs an app, a headset, or a virtual campus. The word can easily become another piece of innovation jargon. But used properly, it describes something very practical: a learning model that combines the flexibility of digital tools with the depth of physical experience.

A phygital approach asks a simple question:

What should happen online, what should happen in simulation, and what must still happen face to face?

That question matters more than ever.

Phygital learning - theory, simulation and experience

Shorter does not mean shallower

One of the clearest changes in education today is the move towards shorter, more modular learning. Traditional degrees and long programmes still matter, of course. They provide structure, depth and recognised qualifications. But professional life no longer waits patiently for people to update their knowledge every five or ten years.

Skills expire faster. Technologies change faster. Regulations evolve faster. Entire sectors are being reshaped by artificial intelligence, climate transition, digitalisation and new forms of work.

The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025 identifies technological change, geoeconomic fragmentation, economic uncertainty, demographic shifts and the green transition as major forces expected to reshape labour markets by 2030.

In that context, education cannot only be something we complete before entering the workforce. It has to become something we return to continuously.

This is one reason why micro-credentials and short learning experiences are gaining momentum. The European Commission defines micro-credentials as certifications of learning outcomes from short-term learning experiences, such as short courses or training, designed to offer flexible and targeted ways to develop knowledge, skills and competences.

But shorter learning should not mean lighter learning.

A short course can be superficial if it is just content compressed into fewer hours. But it can also be powerful if it is carefully designed around one clear competence, one professional challenge, or one operational decision. The question is not how long learning lasts. The question is whether it changes what the learner can understand, decide or do.

In the future, the strongest learning journeys may not be the longest ones. They may be the best sequenced ones.

The simulator as a third space

Between the classroom and the workplace, another learning environment is becoming increasingly important: the simulator.

Simulation is not new. Aviation, healthcare, maritime operations, emergency response and industrial training have used simulation for years. What is changing is its relevance beyond highly specialised technical training.

Simulators offer something that traditional education often struggles to provide: consequence without catastrophe.

Learners can test a decision, see what happens, repeat the scenario, compare outcomes and reflect on their choices. They can experience complexity earlier, but without the real-world risk.

That makes simulation particularly relevant for the future of professional education.

Many of the skills we now need are not purely theoretical. They are situational. They involve coordination, timing, judgement and communication. You cannot fully learn them by reading a manual. You have to practise them in a context that feels close enough to reality to matter.

This is where the phygital model becomes interesting. The online module can prepare the learner. The simulator can create the scenario. The face-to-face session can turn the experience into shared reflection. The workplace can then become the place where learning is applied.

Each space has a role.

Did you know?

Simulation-based learning allows professionals to practise decisions in complex environments before applying them in real operations. In sectors where mistakes are costly, dangerous or difficult to reverse, this can make learning both safer and more meaningful.

Online learning is not the enemy of human learning

After the pandemic, many people became tired of online learning. Understandably so. Too many digital courses were simply classroom sessions moved onto a screen, with little redesign. Too many webinars confused attendance with engagement.

But that does not mean online learning failed. It means that poor design failed.

Digital learning works best when it does what the physical classroom does not need to do. It can prepare, personalise, archive, repeat, translate and support. It can give learners access to material before they meet. It can help people learn at different speeds. It can reduce unnecessary travel. It can make international and cross-sector learning more accessible.

The OECD’s Trends Shaping Education 2025 asks how advances in artificial intelligence, virtual reality and other technologies could transform teaching and learning in the years ahead.

That question should not lead us to adopt technology for its own sake. A PDF uploaded to a platform is not digital transformation. A recorded lecture is not necessarily innovation. A multiple-choice quiz is not automatically assessment.

The real opportunity is to use digital tools to support a wider learning architecture. Online learning should not replace human contact where human contact matters. It should protect it.

If learners arrive in the room already prepared, the physical session can be used for discussion, debate, practice and reflection. The classroom no longer has to be the place where information is delivered. It can become the place where meaning is created.

Face-to-face learning becomes more valuable, not less

There is a paradox in the future of education: the more digital learning becomes, the more precious good face-to-face learning may become.

Not every meeting needs to be physical. Not every explanation needs to happen in person. Not every lecture deserves a room.

But some things are still deeply human.

Trust. Mentoring. Conflict resolution. Professional identity. Negotiation. Leadership. Informal exchange. The confidence that comes from standing next to someone experienced and seeing how they read a situation.

These things are difficult to download.

So perhaps the future is not about defending the classroom as it was. It is about using physical learning moments more intentionally.

The classroom of the future may be less about rows of people receiving information and more about groups of people solving problems together. It may be less about presentation and more about participation. Less about the teacher as the only source of knowledge, and more about the educator as a designer of learning experiences.

That is a much more demanding role.

When information becomes abundant, the educator’s role shifts from delivering content to helping learners make sense of it.

AI will change education, but not in the way we think

No reflection on the future of education can ignore artificial intelligence.

AI will undoubtedly change how people learn. It can help generate explanations, translate content, provide feedback, adapt exercises, summarise materials and support learners outside formal teaching hours.

But AI also forces us to be honest about what education is for.

If a machine can produce an answer, then education cannot only be about producing answers. It must be about asking better questions, evaluating sources, recognising bias, applying knowledge, making ethical decisions and understanding consequences.

In this sense, AI may make human judgement more important, not less.

The educator’s role will change from delivering information to helping learners navigate abundance. When content is everywhere, curation becomes essential. When answers are instant, critical thinking becomes essential. When tools are powerful, responsibility becomes essential.

The future learner will not simply need to know how to use AI. They will need to know when not to trust it.

From courses to learning journeys

The word “course” may also need to evolve.

A course suggests a beginning and an end. A learning journey suggests progression, return, connection and accumulation. This is closer to what professional development now requires.

A learner might begin with a short online introduction, complete a simulation, attend a workshop, receive feedback, apply the knowledge at work, return later for a more advanced module, and eventually build a recognised pathway of competences.

This is not less rigorous than traditional education. If well designed, it can be more relevant.

But it requires a different mindset from institutions, companies and learners. We need to stop thinking of learning as a product that is delivered once and start thinking of it as a system that supports people over time.

UNESCO’s Futures of Education initiative argues that education must be reimagined with a long-term view of its purposes, functions and processes, especially as societies face technological, environmental and social transformation.

That wider perspective is important. The future of education should not only be about efficiency, employability or technology. It should also be about participation, resilience, cooperation and the ability to live and work responsibly in complex systems.

The phygital promise

The phygital future of education is not about choosing between old and new. It is about designing better connections between them.

The screen can prepare.

The simulator can test.

The classroom can connect.

The workplace can transform.

That, for me, is the real promise.

Not education that is shorter for the sake of being short. Not digital because digital sounds modern. Not in-person because that is how things have always been done.

But learning that is more intentional.

Learning that understands when people need flexibility and when they need presence. When they need information and when they need practice. When they need speed and when they need depth. When they need technology and when they need another person beside them.

The future of education is not online.

It is not in person.

It is not even hybrid, if hybrid only means dividing hours between a platform and a classroom.

The future of education is phygital: connected, practical, human, flexible and designed around the way people actually learn.

And if we get it right, it will not make education less human.

It will make the human moments matter more.

Port decarbonisation is, before anything else, a transition of competences

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Voices from the Field · Port2Zero · Mediterranean

Short-sea shipping is paying the cost of a poorly calibrated regulatory transition. Eduard Rodés argues that the real test of Europe’s maritime climate agenda will not be settled only in Brussels, but in the classrooms, terminals and engine rooms where the people who make decarbonisation work are being trained — or not.

By Eduard Rodés, Director of the Escola Europea – Intermodal Transport

“Port decarbonisation is, before anything else, a transition of competences. Without prepared professionals, no policy works — however well calibrated.”

A regime change, not a downturn

The numbers from the 2025 Short Sea Shipping Statistical Observatory leave little room for ambiguity. Between 2013 and 2019, short-sea traffic in Spain grew by an average of 7.8% a year, slightly ahead of road haulage; the correlation between the two modes ran at +0.95. From 2021 onward the picture inverts: short-sea contracts by 2.3% annually while road grows by 2.1%, and the correlation turns negative.

The timing is precise. It coincides with the entry into force of IMO 2020, the maritime ETS and FuelEU Maritime. “It is not a cyclical adjustment,” says Eduard Rodés, Director of the Escola Europea – Intermodal Transport. “It is a regime change. And denying the correlation would be naïve.”

The reading is uncomfortable but lucid. The maritime ETS is not, in his words, a bad instrument: the principle of internalising the cost of emissions is sound. The problem is asymmetry. The ship already pays 70% of the carbon cost in 2025 and 100% from January 2026, while road haulage still does not internalise its externalities at the same intensity. The mode that is most efficient per tonne-kilometre is becoming the most penalised per regulated tonne of CO2. That paradox, Rodés insists, is what the 2026 ETS review must resolve.

If it does not, sector estimates point to up to a quarter of short-sea traffic potentially returning to the road. “If that happens, the Union’s climate balance gets worse, not better. No sensible policy should allow that.”

The geography moves south

The data also tells a story of redistribution. Belgium falls 26%, France 10%, Italy 6%; Morocco grows 5%. The Atlantic loses more than the Mediterranean because Atlantic distances are longer — and the ETS penalises both distance and consumption. But there is a deeper signal: the southern shore of the Mediterranean is gaining weight because its traffic does not yet enter the same European regulatory cost regime, and because the underlying economic demand is real, tied to near-shoring and to the growth of Maghreb economies.

“Short-sea shipping is not disappearing,” Rodés says. “It is reorganising. The centre of gravity of Spanish short-sea is tilting southward, and for ports that read it well, that is an opportunity.”

That reading is not abstract. The Escola has been building a Mediterranean training network for two decades, with active programmes in Tangier Med, Tunisia, Algeria and Senegal, and a co-founding role in PLIKA — an international collaborative network of training centres anchored in port communities. The Mediterranean is not, in this view, a market to be exploited from the north shore: it is a single basin whose decarbonisation will only succeed if both shores advance together.

“The most fuel-efficient mode per tonne-kilometre is becoming the most penalised per regulated tonne of CO2. That is the paradox the 2026 review has to resolve.”

The point regulation cannot reach

There is, however, a part of the transition that no carbon pricing scheme can deliver on its own. It is the part that happens after the policy is written.

A vessel cannot connect to onshore power supply unless the crew knows how to do it safely. A FuelEU Maritime compliance file does not produce itself: it requires port operators who understand the regulation, technicians who can manage the documentation, and shipping agents who can advise their clients on pooling and banking mechanisms. Alternative fuels — methanol, ammonia, hydrogen — are not deployed by infrastructure alone; they are deployed by people who know how to bunker them, store them, account for them and certify them. Eco-incentives are designed by administrations but applied by professionals who must understand exactly what qualifies and what does not.

Port professionals participating in technical training at a modern Mediterranean port
The transition to greener ports is not only about infrastructure and regulation — it also depends on the people who operate, manage and maintain increasingly complex systems.

“This is what we call, at the Escola, the transition of competences,” Rodés explains. “Port decarbonisation is, before anything else, a transition of competences. Without prepared professionals, no policy works — however well calibrated.”

The phrase is more than a slogan. It is the diagnosis on which the Escola has been building its programmes for twenty years, and the spine of where it is heading now.

Key idea

Regulation can set the direction of the energy transition, but it cannot implement it alone. The decisive question is whether port communities have the competences to turn climate policy into operational reality.

A training architecture for the transition

The Escola’s response to the energy transition takes shape in PORT2ZERO, a portfolio of four courses designed to prepare professionals for the operational realities of decarbonising ports. PORTPLUG covers onshore power supply. FUELSHIFT addresses alternative marine fuels. GREENPORT OPS focuses on port energy efficiency. PORTGRID tackles the governance of port energy communities and smart grids — the area where ports stop being passive consumers and become active nodes in regional energy systems.

PORT2ZERO does not stand alone. It connects to a wider training architecture that the Escola has been building for two decades: MOST for short-sea shipping, SURCO for rail intermodality, Forma’t al Port for port vocational pathways, Port Virtual Lab for the digital layer that all of the above increasingly require. The logic is to treat decarbonisation not as a vertical specialism but as a competence running across every layer of a port community — from dockers to traffic managers, from customs agents to shipping company directors.

This logic is also the one informing the Escola’s reference framework, the EEIT-CSTP Competence and Skills Training Programme, which maps eight thematic areas across four EQF levels and gives institutional ports, companies and training providers a common language for what a professional should know and be able to do at each stage of their career. Energy transition, connectivity, environment and resilience are not separate silos in that framework — they are the axes along which the same person must grow.

“The Atlantic loses more than the Mediterranean. But the deeper signal is that the southern shore is gaining weight — and Spanish ports that read it well will find an opportunity there.”

The question Europe will have to answer

The European Union has spent twenty years saying it wanted more short-sea shipping. The 2026 ETS review is the moment to demonstrate whether the policies being applied are coherent with that discourse — whether they include a safeguard mechanism against modal back-shift, a visible reinvestment of maritime ETS revenue into port decarbonisation, and a consistency between the cost burden placed on the mode and the strategic role assigned to it in the TEN-T network and the Motorways of the Sea.

But there is a part of the answer that does not depend on Brussels. It depends on whether, when those policies are properly calibrated, there will be enough trained professionals on the quayside, on the bridge, in the control rooms and in the corridors of the port authorities to make them work in practice.

“That is what the Escola can guarantee,” Rodés concludes. “When the policies are calibrated well, there will be people prepared to make them work. The transition of competences is not a consequence of the energy transition. It is its condition.”

Escola Europea – Intermodal Transport · Voices from the Field

Twenty Years on the Road Together

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A reflection on two decades of collaboration between Portugal and the Escola Europea

Written by: Eduard Rodés, Director of the Escola Europea

There is a common misconception in logistics: that connectivity is built with infrastructure. Ports, railways, terminals, shipping routes – they matter enormously. But after more than twenty years working in transport and education, I have come to believe that the most important connections are built between people.

That is why it is impossible to tell the story of the Escola Europea without talking about Portugal.

For two decades, Portugal has been more than a neighbouring market or a strategic partner. It has been a genuine travelling companion – in the literal sense, too. Some of our earliest collaborations grew out of the Marco Polo programmes and initiatives such as MOST Portugal and SURCO Portugal, which aimed to promote short sea shipping and open new approaches to freight transport. Looking back, their most lasting achievement was less visible: they built a community.

A community of port managers, logistics professionals, public officials, and educators who discovered that working across borders produced better results than working alone. Many of those who joined those first programmes are now running companies, shaping policy, or training the next generation. The impact has kept travelling.

The People Behind the Projects

No partnership of this scale is built by institutions. It is built by individuals who decide to commit to something.

Antonio Belmar was one of those people during the formative years of our collaboration — someone who could bring the right stakeholders into the room and get things moving. Antonio Nabo Martins, first at CP and later at APAT, became another key figure in anchoring the relationship over time. And alongside them, many others: Eduardo Bandeira, Thiago Fernandes, Vítor Caldeirinha, Luís Cacho, Isabel Moura, João Carvalho, João Soares — professionals and lecturers whose contributions rarely make it into official records but have shaped everything we have built together.

Learning by Going

Some of my strongest memories from this collaboration come from the field: visiting Portuguese ports during Port2Rail, or riding the rail corridors of northern Spain with SURCO Portugal participants. These were demanding programmes, and deliberately so. You cannot really understand intermodality from a classroom. You have to see how a decision made at one terminal ripples through operations hundreds of kilometres away.

SURCO Portugal 2012 — participants at a Portuguese port visit

That conviction — that logistics has to be experienced, not just taught — remains at the centre of what we do.

What Has Held This Together

Twenty years is a long time in any sector — long enough to see funding programmes come and go, institutions restructure, and market conditions shift several times over. What has sustained the relationship with Portugal through all of that is not a formal agreement or a shared budget. It is trust. Trust allows organisations to share knowledge rather than guard it. It allows professionals to learn from each other without competition getting in the way. And it allows projects to survive the disruptions that any long-term collaboration will inevitably face.

Looking Ahead

Today, programmes like MOST Iberia and Port2Rail continue to bring together professionals from both sides of the border. The sector has changed — sustainability has moved from a nice idea to a strategic imperative, new technologies are reshaping operations, and AI is beginning to alter how logistics decisions are made. The questions are more complex than they were in 2005.

But the foundation is stronger, too. Twenty years of shared work means a network of people who know each other, trust each other, and have already proven they can collaborate effectively across borders.

That is the kind of infrastructure that does not appear on any map — but it may be the most important kind we have built.

From Classroom to Operations: Rethinking Logistics Education at CSCMP European Conference 2026

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Supply chains are changing faster than ever.

Digitalisation, artificial intelligence, sustainability requirements and geopolitical uncertainty are reshaping the way goods move around the world. Yet one important question remains: are we preparing future professionals to operate successfully in this new environment?

This question guided the workshop organised by Escola Europea – Intermodal Transport during the CSCMP Europe Conference 2026 in Madrid, one of Europe’s leading gatherings of supply chain professionals and industry experts.

Titled “From Classroom to Operations: Bridging Physical and Virtual Logistics”, the session explored how logistics education can evolve beyond traditional teaching models and create learning experiences that better reflect the realities of modern supply chains.

Participants during the workshop titled “From Classroom to Operations: Bridging Physical and Virtual Logistics”

The discussion brought together Eduard Rodés, Director of Escola Europea, Orlando Reveco, Digital Product Manager, and Valeria Munar, Community Builder, who shared different perspectives on educational innovation, industry collaboration and the role of technology in developing future logistics talent.

At the heart of the conversation was a simple idea: knowledge alone is no longer enough.

Future professionals must learn how to analyse information, collaborate with others, make decisions under pressure and understand the consequences of those decisions in complex operational environments. Developing these skills requires educational approaches that combine theory with practice and allow participants to learn through experience.

This is where simulation, gamification and digital learning environments play an increasingly important role.

Group photo of the participants of the workshop titled “From Classroom to Operations: Bridging Physical and Virtual Logistics”

During the workshop, Escola Europea presented PVL Flash, the latest addition to the Port Virtual Lab ecosystem. Designed as a fast-paced, gamified learning experience, PVL Flash challenges participants to solve real logistics and international trade scenarios by analysing data, evaluating transport alternatives and making operational decisions in real time.

Workshop facilitators from left to right: Eduard Rodés, Director of the Escola Europea; Valeria Munar, Community Builder of the Escola Europea; and Orlando Reveco, Digital Products Manager

More importantly, however, PVL Flash served as an example of a broader vision.

At Escola Europea, we believe the future of education lies in learning ecosystems that connect educational institutions, companies, ports, logistics operators and technology providers. These ecosystems enable learners to move more naturally between knowledge and application, between digital environments and real operations.

As Eduard Rodés explained during the session, “The challenge is no longer simply to transfer knowledge. We need to create learning environments where participants can experiment, make decisions and understand the impact of those decisions in contexts that increasingly resemble real operations. The closer we bring learning to reality, the better prepared professionals will be for the challenges of modern supply chains.”

The conversations held during CSCMP confirmed that this challenge is shared across the industry. Organisations are increasingly looking for ways to strengthen the connection between education and employment, improve workforce readiness and create more engaging learning experiences for future professionals.

The conference also provided an opportunity to deepen the relationship between Escola Europea and CSCMP, opening new avenues for collaboration around professional development, educational innovation and the promotion of best practices across the logistics and supply chain sector. Both organisations share a commitment to fostering talent and supporting the continuous evolution of the industry through knowledge exchange and lifelong learning.

As we continue to develop our Escola 2030 vision, these discussions reinforce our conviction that the future of logistics education will not be built by educational institutions alone. It will be built through collaboration between all actors involved in shaping the supply chains of tomorrow.

Looking ahead, Escola Europea hopes to continue contributing to CSCMP initiatives and future editions of the conference, creating spaces where educators, practitioners and technology providers can work together to address the skills and competencies that tomorrow’s supply chains will require.

The classroom remains important. But the future belongs to learning environments that bring operations closer to learners — and learners closer to operations.

Ports, People and Opportunity: Building Skills for the Mediterranean Logistics Sector

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When discussing the future of ports and logistics, conversations often focus on infrastructure, connectivity and investment. Yet one of the most important elements of any port ecosystem is not physical at all. It is people.

As international trade evolves and logistics networks become increasingly complex, ports across the Mediterranean face a common challenge: ensuring that local communities have access to the skills, knowledge and opportunities needed to participate in this transformation.

This challenge was at the centre of the OPEN TRADE MED pre-pilot seminar held in Barcelona on 8–9 June 2026, bringing together representatives from the Port of Tripoli, MARSATI (Maritime Sciences and Technology Institute), the Urban Community Al Fayhaa and a network of Mediterranean partners committed to strengthening employability and vocational training in the logistics sector.

Led by Escola Europea – Intermodal Transport, OPEN TRADE MED (Operations and Procedures for Employment and Networking for Trade in the Mediterranean) aims to build bridges between education, employment and the realities of international trade. The project seeks to support port communities by bringing together training centres, public institutions, port authorities and private-sector stakeholders to develop programmes that respond directly to labour market needs.

Over two days of discussions and workshops, participants explored how future training initiatives could contribute to economic development, youth employability and stronger connections between local talent and the logistics industry. The seminar provided an opportunity to identify skills gaps, map key stakeholders and define the foundations of a future pilot project focused on the Port of Tripoli.

One of the strongest messages emerging from the discussions was the importance of collaboration. Developing effective training programmes requires more than educational expertise. It requires the active participation of employers, public authorities, industry associations and local communities.

Reflecting on the seminar, Oumkelthoum Imigine, Project & New Markets Manager at Escola Europea, noted:

“After months of preparation, it was very rewarding to finally bring everyone together in Barcelona. The discussions, ideas and commitment shown by all participants confirmed that there is real potential to create meaningful opportunities in logistics, international trade and vocational training. This is only the beginning of the OPEN TRADE MED journey.”

The seminar confirmed both the relevance of the project and the commitment of the participating institutions to continue working together on future training and employability initiatives.

The involvement of institutions such as AECID, IEMed, MEDPorts, Barcelona Activa and the Fundació BCN Formació Professional highlighted the value of cross-sector cooperation in addressing shared Mediterranean challenges.

The next phase of OPEN TRADE MED will focus on transforming ideas into action. Training of Trainers activities, digital learning tools, stakeholder engagement initiatives and employability programmes will all contribute to building a sustainable ecosystem capable of creating long-term opportunities in logistics, transport and international trade.

For Escola Europea, the project reflects a broader belief that education should not only transfer knowledge but also create pathways to employment, professional development and social inclusion.

Ports are gateways for goods and trade. But they can also be gateways for opportunity. Through OPEN TRADE MED, we are working with our partners to ensure that the future of Mediterranean logistics is built not only through infrastructure, but through people.

Grupo Arola joins Forma’t al Port to support the development of future logistics talent

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The company becomes a new sponsor of the Escola Europea’s flagship training programme, reinforcing the connection between education and the port-logistics industry.

Escola Europea – Intermodal Transport is pleased to announce the incorporation of Grupo Arola as a new sponsor of Forma’t al Port, the training programme that connects students with the port and logistics ecosystem of Barcelona through practical, industry-oriented learning experiences.

From left to right: Alejandro Arola, President of Grupo Arola; Ariadna Arola, Chief Research and Development Officer at Grupo Arola; Eduard Rodés, Director of Escola Europea – Intermodal Transport; and Marta Miquel, Deputy Director of Escola Europea, during the signing of the sponsorship agreement that formalises Grupo Arola’s incorporation into the Forma’t al Port programme.

The agreement strengthens the collaboration between the business and educational sectors with a shared objective: supporting the development of young talent and preparing future professionals for careers in logistics, transport, and international trade.

For more than ten years, Forma’t al Port has brought students closer to the realities of the Port of Barcelona and its logistics community. Through direct interaction with companies, industry professionals, and operational environments, participants gain first-hand insight into the sector while developing both technical knowledge and transversal skills.

Today, the programme is supported by more than 35 sponsors, including public administrations, logistics-port associations, shipping companies, freight forwarders, transport operators, depots, and other key stakeholders from the sector. In addition, a network of collaborating entities, many of them port terminals, contributes to the practical training activities that form an essential part of the programme.

In 2025, Forma’t al Port celebrated its tenth anniversary, bringing together 636 students from 15 educational centres and consolidating its position as one of the leading applied training initiatives within the port-logistics sector.

The programme is structured around two complementary stages. Forma’t al Port Introduction introduces first-year students to the fundamentals of the port ecosystem and the roles of its different actors. Forma’t al Port Talent, aimed at second-year students, focuses on the development of high-performance teams in transport and logistics management, combining technical training with the enhancement of soft skills, teamwork, communication, and professional competencies.

As part of this new collaboration, Ariadna Arola, Chief Research and Development Officer at Grupo Arola, will serve as sponsor and mentor of the upcoming Forma’t al Port Talent edition. During the programme, she will share her professional experience and vision of the logistics sector with participating students, offering valuable insights into the challenges and opportunities that await future professionals.

“At Escola Europea, we firmly believe that preparing the next generation of logistics professionals requires close collaboration between educational institutions and industry. We are delighted to welcome Grupo Arola to the Forma’t al Port community and look forward to working together to inspire and support future talent,” said Marta Miquel, Deputy General Director of the Escola Europea – Intermodal Transport.

The incorporation of Grupo Arola reinforces Forma’t al Port’s commitment to bridging education and industry, ensuring that students gain the knowledge, skills, and professional connections needed to thrive in an increasingly interconnected, innovative, and sustainable logistics sector.

Rail on Track: Port2Rail Returns to Portugal and SURCO Navarra Brings Intermodality to the Region

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We’ve been busy on the rails. This spring, two new programmes have taken our approach to hands-on training directly into the field — connecting learning with real infrastructure, real operations, and real logistics networks.

The Port2Rail 2026 cohort. Three days, six logistics nodes, and a train full of people who understand that the best way to learn intermodality is to live it.

Port2Rail is back — fourteen years on

Port2Rail, our practical course on maritime-rail intermodality, returned to Portugal with a new edition that took participants through Lisbon, Setúbal, Sines, Aveiro, Leixões and Entroncamento. Fourteen years after its first edition, the concept remains the same: the train journey itself becomes the classroom.

 

From the vault: participants of the very first Port2Rail edition, 2011. Fourteen years later, the train is still running

Over three days, transport, logistics and international trade professionals combined technical sessions, operational visits and hands-on exercises with the Port Virtual Lab, exploring Portugal’s key logistics nodes and analysing the integration of ports, rail terminals and intermodal corridors in real time.

The programme was developed together with APAT – Associação dos Transitários de Portugal, with the participation of the Polytechnic Institute of Setúbal, Infraestruturas de Portugal, CP – Comboios de Portugal, MEDWAY, and the port authorities of Lisbon, Setúbal, Sines, Aveiro and Leixões.

As our director Eduard Rodés put it: “Running this course on rails again, fourteen years after its first edition, meant recovering a way of learning that is directly connected to the operational reality of rail and intermodal transport. These initiatives are only possible thanks to the collaboration between public institutions, rail operators, port authorities, companies and training organisations who believe in education built from real experience.”

SURCO Navarra: rail in regional context

Alongside Port2Rail, we recently delivered the SURCO Navarra programme, developed in collaboration with the Government of Navarra — which funded it entirely — and with the support of CEN and AER. The programme brought together shippers, carriers, logistics operators and vocational training teachers in Pamplona and Tudela to explore the role of rail within regional and international logistics chains.

Participants visited the Traffic Control Centre in Zaragoza, the Zaragoza Maritime Terminal and the intermodal terminal in Noáin — translating real infrastructure into shared learning.

Both programmes reflect what we do best: training that doesn’t happen in a classroom alone, but inside the logistics networks we’re all working to improve.

MSC joins Escola Europea’s “Forma’t al Port” programme as a new sponsor

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MSC joins the Escola Europea’s Forma’t al Port programme as a new sponsor, strengthening collaboration between the logistics sector and education to support young talent.

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