Shipping faces mounting pressure to modernise while attracting and retaining talent, yet professional development remains fragmented. Matt Gilbert, founder and chief executive of open learning platform Yuni, says that gap prompted him to act. “I started Yuni because while I’ve seen examples of great programmes throughout my career, I also saw how fragmented systems are, and the barriers to access by geography or budget or discoverability that exist,” he says. Gilbert argues the industry lacks a shared foundation for development. “There are huge pressures for the sector to modernise and we also need to attract, develop and retain talent. While everyone is doing their best to do their bit, it’s a bit scattered and lacks a compounding engine that builds a reusable asset base for all,” he explains. In 2025, Gilbert left his job to build what he believed was missing. “In 2025, I took the plunge and left my job to build what I thought was missing – shared digital infrastructure for the industry that is open for the whole sector to contribute and build value,” he says. The MVP went live only weeks ago and early feedback, he notes, has been positive. The team is now busy iterating with early customers and phasing in modules for creators, enterprise and institutions. At launch, around 300 e-learning courses are available, with more to come as contributors join. “Over time expert creators and institutions will list their own courses in the marketplace,” he says. Gilbert describes the platform as open infrastructure offering course creation tools, personalised learning, multilingual translation, AI-assisted study support and digital credentialling. “Yuni aims to match or exceed the technical capability of the largest global platforms, curated and focused on the maritime sector, with attractive economics for producers and learners to benefit,” he asserts. Affordability is central to the model. A Pro account is priced at £8 per month, widening access to advanced tools and hundreds of courses. “A Pro account gives access to advanced tools and hundreds of courses bringing professional development into the reach of people in lower and middle-income countries who are often excluded by cost alone,” he says. Support is available in 15 languages at launch, which he says opens doors for professionals less comfortable with technical English. Gilbert also stresses the platform’s position on trust and architecture. “We’ve taken a deliberate position on architecture and trust. The customer will never become the product to be monetised and organisations are not locked into commercial handcuffs. We support interoperability and portability,” he explains. Yuni is a UK-registered company founded in 2025 and fully bootstrapped. For now, the priority is refining the product. “Right now the focus is product-market fit, releasing features in controlled phases and continuous iteration with early customers and partners to refine the user experience and activate the community governance systems,” he says. A seed round will be considered when traction justifies it. On technology trends, Gilbert believes AI will remain central, though perhaps in a different way than expected. “I know we are all a bit jaded by discussion on AI, but it’s still early in the adoption curve,” he says. He suggests 2026 will focus more on autonomous agents than AGI milestones. “I think 2026 will be less about AGI milestones, though, and more about agents and, by extension, agency,” he explains, que