The Third Research Seminar -Workshop on Action Research with the theme “Giving Action to Research Towards Competitive MET” was conducted by MAAP in collaboration with the Philippine Association of Maritime Researchers (PAMR). The two-day activity had certainly enhanced the research capability of the MAAP Community (faculty / staff and students). This activity was documented and the paper,  “PAMR Oath Taking and First Project at MAAP: An Action Research Seminar- Workshop, is published at MAAP Journal, Philippines, October 2004 Vol 1 (ISSN- 1656-555x).  Out of the 23 research proposals, produced from the workshop by the MAAP Faculty and staff, a total of 13 research papers were accomplished by them (5 researches on institutional level, 4 researches on national level and 4 researches on the international level). The opportunity provided to the MAAP faculty and staff in presenting their research papers abroad like Shanghai China, Singapore, Bulgaria etc gave them the break to link and network with colleagues in other maritime schools. There were two (2) accomplished researches by four midshipmen under the tutelage of their instructors.

Vadm Eduardo Ma. R. Santos, AFP (Ret) President of MAAP, served as resource speaker and spearheaded the Development of the Maritime Research Networking in the 21st Century on July 5, 2002 during the First MET Congress with the Theme “Towards a More Responsive and Relevant MET ”, held at the Manila Midtown Hotel. His paper "Developing Maritime Research Networking (MARENET) in the 21st Century " formed part of the MET Congress proceedings and is  published at MAAP Journal, Philippines, October 2004 Vol 1 ( ISSN- 1656-555x) . Maritime stakeholders participated actively on the said workshop and their issues and concerns were all noted by DRES Director and presented to the body by MAAP President.

On October 3, 2002, when MAAP President led a follow- up meeting with MARENET workshop members in MAAP, the Department of Research and Extension Services of MAAP, validated the issues raised on Research Networking during the first MET Congress through a questionnaire. The paper “Validation of the First National MET Congress Workshop Output on Maritime Research Networking (MARENET)”documented the result and published at MAAP Journal, Philippines, October 2004 Vol 1 (ISSN- 1656-555x).

On October 21-25, 2002, MAAP presented three papers in the 12th International Maritime Lecturers Association Conference or (12th IMLA) with theme “Making MET More Efficient and More Effective – A Global Challenge, Shanghai Maritime University (SMA), Shanghai China. One of the papers “Undertaking Extension Services Towards a More Efficient and Effective Maritime Education and Training: The MAAP Experience “ was presented and the same was published in the proceedings.