23 students from Polis University visited the “Vlora Marina” tourism project in the coastal city, as part of the B4Students program initiative, to provide aspiring engineers with real work experience. The visit was a combination of observing site works and interacting with industry professionals.

Accompanied by the three lecturers, Endri Duro, Flogerta Krosi and Albi Alliaj, the group of students was welcomed to the Vlora Marina showroom by the project manager, Ervin Baçaj, who introduced them with a brief presentation of its development and importance for the community, designed as the elite maritime tourism destination in Albania.

Vlora Marina replaces the city’s old and depreciated industrial port, turning it into a modern port with a capacity of up to 438 yachts and mega-yachts, thus transforming it into a powerful revenue-generating engine for the economy. The entire investment, including all the public infrastructure of the area, the parks and the promenade, as well as the residential complex, will reach the value of about 350 million euros.

During their exploratory tour and learning in the shipyard environment, the students were greeted by a team of engineers who showed them around the project and explained the various stages of the construction process. One of the first interesting things that the students noticed were the water foundations in one of the parts of the marina, or the future yacht port, which is expected to be the tourist port with the highest standards in Albania and beyond. Building standards, technology, and water foundation construction were some of the issues discussed with the implementing engineers.

The students were particularly interested in the sustainability aspects of the construction process and appreciated the techniques used. They were pleased to see that the construction team was using environmentally friendly materials and methods, and the project was conceived at a European level.

“The visit to this very important project is essential for students to better understand the challenges and new construction technologies in special conditions. Moreover, it gives students the opportunity to be closer to the application part thanks to conversations with the company’s engineers” said Endri Duro, lecturer at the Department of Architecture and Engineering at Polis University.

He added that “for the students, as one of their first visits, it was an exciting experience with opportunities to explore the nature of projects near the sea”.

The project manager, Ervin Baçaj said that “Vlora Marina is committed to cooperating with academic institutions in order to improve the learning experience, help in the professional development of students and their integration to contribute to the implementation of the project.”

The students left the site feeling inspired about the high impact of construction projects, and the career opportunities as future engineers in this industry and the “Vlora Marina” project.