For the batches of cadets that enroll into the Tripartite Maritime Training Award (TMTA) programmes, SMOU and WMI will take the opportunity to engage them through a fireside chat session to find out about their reasons for choosing the seafaring career, and how they came to know of the programmes. At these sessions, cadets share about their background, motivations, struggles and goals while gleaning from the wisdom of veterans that have decades of experience in the seafaring career.

Having safe management measures in place during this period of the pandemic, the fireside chat this round looked a bit different for the cadets of Tripartite Nautical Training Award (TNTA) cohort 18 and Tripartite Engineering Training Award (TETA) cohort 5. The cadets connected with SMOU and WMI officials through a virtual platform which brought a different dynamic to the session.