IAMU News - Special Edition
Editorial
Welcome to the IAMU News special edition dedicated towards higher education opportunities available at member institutions worldwide. Although the initial response to our call for papers first issued in December 2004 was relatively lukewarm, I am pleased to report that the momentum picked up by late January and February 2005. We received a total of 14 articles of which 12 were selected for inclusion in this issue. On behalf of the editorial board, I thank all contributors for their participation and also their patience. The publication of this issue took longer than usual because of internal IAMU deliberations regarding the mode of publication of future News issues. As you may have learned from your IAMU contact person/s at your campus, beginning with the current issue, IAMU News will be published only electronically. It is my understanding that this decision was made to offset the increasing cost of printing and distributing the publication worldwide in a cost-effective and timely fashion. With the maturing of the digital media and its almost universal applicability in higher education and scholarly pursuits in maritime-related fields as well as in more traditional disciplines, this outcome was predictable and bound to happen. I have taken the liberty to summarize the crux of the selected twelve articles from member institutions and also provide information about post-graduate education available at Maine Maritime Academy, a founding IAMU member and also my home institution. The summary is not intended to replace descriptive original articles which I hope all readers will find the time to read. By the same token, I take full responsibility for any errors or omissions in my summary.
The chosen articles for this issue originated from well known and highly respected maritime institutions located in all major continents, viz., Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, and North America. The Arab Academy for Science, Technology, and Maritime Transport in Alexandria, Egypt, began offering a MSc degree in Maritime Transport and Technology in the mid 1990s. The degree is offered in five areas of specialization. Presently, AAST also provides PhD and non-degree options. The Australian Maritime College in Launceston, Tasmania offers post-graduate degree (MSc, MPhil, and PhD) and non-degree options in maritime business, maritime engineering, and marine resource management. The two leading Chinese maritime universities have an impressive listing of higher education options. Shanghai Maritime University is authorized to offer 25 masters level programs and three doctoral degrees. Dalian Maritime University also offers 25 masters level programs and nine doctoral programs. Both institutions have a large number of faculty and support staff for their post-graduate offerings. In addition, reflecting the contemporary trend in higher education, both of these universities have initiated MSc degree programs in collaboration with the World Maritime University. The new programs will be taught locally in Dalian and Shanghai respectively by distinguished faculty members recruited from various campuses worldwide. Dalian is also planning to start an executive MBA program in the near future.
Istanbul Technical University in Turkey reorganized its post-graduate offerings in 2000 and now offers MSc and doctoral degrees in Maritime Transportation Engineering. ITU graduate students have three concentrations to choose from, viz., Maritime and Port Management, Marine Engineering, and Navigation. The Odessa National Maritime Academy also offers MSc degree as well as PhD, structured in modular format. The Admiral Makarov State Maritime Academy offers an impressive list of post-graduate offerings at both masters and PhD levels, and has a large number of terminally qualified faculty members to teach and supervise research.
Satakunta Polytechnic will begin a new post-graduate degree in shipping for experienced shipping and maritime professionals in 2006. The program will assist those individuals to complete their higher education without disrupting their professional career. Maritime Institute Willem Barentsz is also planning to introduce post-graduate programs within the next two years. Their options will include a Master of Marine Technology and also a Master of Marine Operations.
The opportunities for maritime-related higher education are on the rise in North America as well. The Marine Institute in Newfoundland, Canada is planning to introduce a Master of Marine Studies program in collaboration with the Memorial University's Faculty of Business Administration. The institute will capitalize its expertise in distance education technology and deliver the program in collaboration with other willing partners. California Maritime Academy's higher education efforts are in security-related areas, a topic of high interest in the shipping industry worldwide, and the U.S. in particular. They are developing maritime security courses approved by the U.S. Maritime Administration and are also collaborating with the Admiral Makarov State Maritime Academy. The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy is aiming to fill the void in higher education opportunities for marine engineers in the U.S. by commencing a Master of Marine Engineering degree in January 2006. The degree, structured in traditional semesters, will be non-traditional and have a significant distance education component.
Maine Maritime Academy, my home institution, is a globally recognized leader in providing the highest quality international business and supply chain management-related education and offers its graduate degree through the Loeb-Sullivan School of International Business and Logistics. The MMA graduate program, established in the mid-1980s, underwent significant restructuring in 2003 and now offers four Master of Science degree majors-Global Supply Chain Management, Maritime Management, International Business, and Defense Logistics. The new majors were created to meet the requirements of contemporary businesses as well as governmental and non-governmental agencies operating in a global environment. Furthermore, the current geopolitical environment has exacerbated the need for professionals with advanced knowledge in these areas of specialization. Courses are offered in semester format during the regular academic year and in compact modules during the summer months. The timely and innovative curriculum provides extensive coverage of the core functional areas of business management and also offers concentrated specialized training to develop and integrate managerial disciplines within the context of global supply chain management, maritime management, international business, and defense logistics. The highly mission-driven and niche-oriented MMA program is taught by a dedicated in-house faculty and selected distinguished visiting faculty members and consultants. There is flexibility in completion time with candidates completing the entire program in one calendar year of full-time study, or taking a maximum of three years while accommodating their work commitments. The seminar format of every class ensures close student-faculty contact. The campus provides an exceptional global transportation and logistics research environment with library, computer, and internet facilities to support classes and research projects. The diversity in experiences and background of MMA's post-graduate students, and the idyllic location in a small, picturesque New England coastal town with a rich maritime heritage provide the perfect environment for post-graduate education for mariners.
Overall, the IAMU News Special Edition will remain a document of exceptional value for mariners from all across the globe as they search for higher education opportunities. This is particularly important given the well documented tendency among seafarers regardless of their nationality to pursue higher education once they reach a certain stage in their professional lives. I thank the authors for bringing this issue to fruition. Without their initiative to take the time to write and share information about post-graduate education opportunities available at their home institution, this issue would not have materialized. I would also like to recognize President Eisenhardt and his team of editors from California Maritime Academy who did an outstanding job in choosing the contents of this issue and editing the articles for consistency in style and formatting.
Prof. Shashi Kumar, Ph.D., Master Mariner
Associate Dean
Loeb-Sullivan School of IBL
Maine Maritime Academy
skumar@mma.edu
