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www.seadiscovery.com Marine Technology Reporter 31the life of existing wells. The CEM has been in development for 10 years and uses acoustic transducers to sendinformation about the condition of asection of pipe. ClampOn currently has two major orders for this product, one for a BP field life extension proj- ect in the Gulf of Mexico and one for Total in the North Sea. Expanding Subsea Education Besides boosting infrastructure investments and encouraging innova- tion, the cluster has also led to thedevelopment of more education options to attract students to theregion. Bergen University College (HiB) recently expanded its offerings to include three new subsea-focussed degrees: a Bachelor of Subsea Technology - Marine Operations, a Master of Subsea Technology - Operations and Maintenance, and a Master of Subsea Technology - Marine Operations. ?Local industry said they needed more engineers, and not only mechanical or electrical engineers butpreferably with training in both. Local companies worked together with HiB to identify the competen- cies they needed HiB to give the stu- dents through the study program,? explained Laila Linde Lossius,Assistant Professor at HiB and pro- gram coordinator for the Bachelor´s degree program. The resulting pro- gram offers students a mix ofmechanical engineering, electricalengineering and petroleum related subjects.The Master´s program, meanwhile, is offered in collaboration with the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). According to Ragne Gjengedal, Associate Professor at the College and program coordina- tor for the Master´s program, the College aims to become a ?knowledge hub? for the subsea activities in the Bergen region. Since 2007, 40 students per year have enrolled in what is now a highly competitive three-year Bachelor´s degree program. ?The local industry needed more engineers with these skills,? Lossius says ? as demonstratedby the fact that members of the two graduating classes to date have quick- ly found work, primarily with service companies in Bergen´s subsea indus- try. Cluster Impact Subsea technology development and company collaboration has beengoing on in the Bergen region since long before the establishment of the NCE. But General Manager Trond Olsen believes that NCE Subsea´s efforts have made an impact, and cluster members appear to agree. In a 2009 survey of members, 60% said that they had initiated a new project or activity with another cluster mem-ber. ?We are seeing more competing companies collaborating in non-sen-sitive areas of mutual benefit,? Olsen says. Olsen is also proud that the NCE organization itself has becomean accepted member of Bergen's sub- sea community. As an example, he notes that he will chair the program committee for the 2012 Underwater Technology Conference in Bergen, the oldest subsea conference in the world. This is the second time he has filled this role, which had previously been filled by a representative from an operator. Olsen believes this shows the business community´s buy-in tothe NCE´s role, and its continued presence in the region. ClampOn Engineering´s new subseaCorrosion-Erosion Monitoring system on display at the company´s recent- ly-expanded facility in Bergen.MTR#1 (18-33):MTR Layouts 1/4/2012 9:12 AM Page 31
