Responding to the growing demands of the local and international shipping industry, the Caribbean Maritime Institute (CMI) will on June 19, commence its Master of Science (MSc) in shipping management and logistics, in conjunction with the Cyprus International Institute of Management (CIIM).

The new degree programme is part of a memorandum of understanding between the CMI and CIIM which was signed in 2008 to develop programmes for professionals in the region.

This is the first of three new MSc degrees that CMI will offer this year. The institute has recently signed off on two additional MSc programmes: industrial systems engineering, and logistics and supply chain management, which will commence in October of this year.

Moving away from traditional courses

Fritz Pinnock, executive director of CMI, said the institute was moving away from offering the traditional courses to these new offerings in an effort to meet the needs of the international shipping market. "The new degrees were created from a need to provide higher level professionals in this region to fill the global shortage for these professionals," Pinnock said.

The MSc in shipping management and logistics is a one-year programme which will be taught in modules by lecturers from international universities: Harvard, Yale, Cambridge and Oxford. Two CMI lecturers, Ibrahim Ajaguna, academic director, and Dr Libuwa Ononuju, registrar, along with two lecturers from the University of the West Indies will also lecture for the new MSc. They are Dr Hylton McDavis from the department of Management Studies and Dr Lawrence Nicholson from the Mona Institute of Business. Other lecturers are from France and Cyprus.

Already 25 students, including senior managerial persons in the shipping industry, have registered for the programme. The students will have the option to graduate in Jamaica or in Cyprus. Matriculation qualifications required for the course is a first degree, and experience in shipping or international logistics would be an advantage.

Accreditation

CIIM is a non-profit, non-state institution, located in Cyprus. It was founded in 1990 and is recognised and fully accredited by the London-based Association of MBAs (AMBA). CIIM is also fully accredited by the Accreditation Authorities of Cyprus and, by extension, the European Union.

CMI was established in 1980 by the Government of Jamaica in collaboration with the government of the Kingdom of Norway. All degrees offered by the institute are recognised by the World Maritime University in Sweden, the University of Plymouth in the United Kingdom, and Cardiff University in Wales.

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