India to get its second maritime university soon
India will soon get its second maritime university in Gujarat and the courses would start from 2018. The new Gujarat Maritime University will focus on
India will soon get its second maritime university in Gujarat and the courses would start from 2018. The new Gujarat Maritime University will focus on commercial maritime courses instead of technical programmes that are being offered in over 130 Indian training institutes.
The various commercial subjects that would be offered at the proposed university are maritime law, maritime policy, marine insurance, shipping trade and finance, maritime management, maritime human resource management, marine administration, maritime transportation and logistics, marine safety, commercial yachting, hospitality and eco-tourism, etc. to name a few.
"At present, the Indian maritime institutes offer pre-sea and post-sea training programmes. The majority of courses cater to technical job roles, mainly those of seafarers or deck officers. But they largely ignore the commercial side of the shipping industry," said an official of Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB).
As per the data available with the Directorate General of Shipping, only 8 per cent of the available maritime courses in India catered to the commercial side of the industry, which is in sharp contrast to the demand. Globally, the ratio of commercial to technical programmes is 45:55.
"The government of Gujarat has already given an in-principle approval for the establishment of the university. Memorandums of Understandings with two international universities – Plymouth University, United Kingdom and Global MET Support Centre of Korea Maritime and Ocean University, South Korea – have been inked. The process is on for a third MoU with the Southampton Solent University of the United Kingdom," added the official.
The campus, which may be spread over 100-150 acres, is most likely to be situated close to the metropolis of Ahmedabad. One of the prime reasons for having it near an urban set-up is the convenience of the seamless faculty exchange.
The Gujarat Assembly is likely to clear a Bill regarding the matter in September. From 2017-18 onwards, work would commence developing the university infrastructure at an approximate cost of Rs630 crore. Right now GMB, along with the Gujarat government, is yet to decide the final destination for the University.
The Indian Maritime University (IMU) Chennai is a Central University,that was established by an Act of the Indian Parliament namely the Indian Maritime University Act 2008, on 14 November 2008. It is the only university in the country imparting education in the maritime field. It has an All-India jurisdiction and the headquarters is in Chennai. It has campuses at Chennai, Kolkata, Mumbai, Visakhapatnam, Cochin and Kandla Port.