NE EDUCATION BUREAU
CHENNAI, MAY 30
The Indian Maritime University (IMU) in Chennai, a Central University under the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, has been doing well for more than a decade now. The university, which functions under the Union Ministry of Ports and Shipping, offers various undergraduate and postgraduate courses through campuses in Chennai, Kochi, Mumbai, Visakhapatnam and other places, said Cmde KD Joshi, Controller of Examinations of the University and M Saravanan, Financial Officer (In-charge).
IMU Press Meet to highlight the achievements of IMU under the able
guidance of the Government of India
Pt.1 pic.twitter.com/JqNIUDpV33— INDIAN MARITIME UNIVERSITY (@IMU_HQ) May 30, 2023
- MS/PHD research courses were started in all the campuses since 2017, out of which 55 students are currently pursuing research projects
- The intake of female students has been growing at IMU from 13 students in 2014, to 123 students in 2022
- IMU recently entered into an MoU with M/s BW Global United LPG India for giving scholarship to 50 deserving Female students of IMU.
They say that various campuses of the university offer MTech and MBA master’s courses in maritime technology, international transport, etc.
BSc and BBA courses in Maritime science and Logistics are also being offered, they said. They said MS/PHD research courses were started in all the campuses since 2017, out of which 55 students are currently pursuing research projects.
Indian Maritime University is poised to play a key role in the development of trained human resource for the maritime sector.
Launch of new Programmes in the past decade
IMU is continuously reviewing the needs of the Maritime Industry and towards this has introduced the following new UG / PG programmes during the decade:
- M.Tech in Marine Technology – Kolkata
- MBA – International Transportation and Logistics Management (Visakapatnam)
- B.Sc (NS) – Kochi
- BBA in Logistics, Retailing and E-Commerce – Chennai, Kochi
- BBA (Maritime Logistics-Apprenticeship embedded) programme – Vizag Campus in association with Logistics Skill Council.
Promotion of Research in Maritime Sector through introduction of Research Programmes
IMU introduced MS / Ph D programmes in 2017 in all campuses. Currently 55 scholars are pursuing the research programmes in varied areas of maritime sector. IMU’s PG and Research programmes at IMU go long way to fill this gap in the country to produce academically qualified faculty out of Maritime professionals apart from promoting research in the martime sector.
Internationalization process of IMU
50 students and 10 faculty members were offered a micro credit course conducted online by Erasmus UPT, Netherlands on Logistics and Operation Management & Data Analytics. Four Faculty / Students were nominated and undergone a combi-training in Port of Antwerp, Belgium. As part of GIAN lecture series, IMU organised the lecture by Jillian Carson, former President of Nautical Institute, Australia. Recently a lecture by Dr. Kevin D Jones Executive Dean, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Plymouth was conducted on the topic maritime Cyber security. IMU so far completed four training programmes for African Nationals. 78 African professionals were trained under the aegis of MoEA under International Technical and Economic Cooperation scheme (ITEC). IMU is also a partner in Direct Admission of Students Abroad (DASA) scheme of MoEA to benefit the NRIs & PIOs.
Membership of University of Arctic (UArctic) by Indian Maritime University (IMU)
India’s Arctic Policy titled “India and the Arctic: building a partnership for sustainable development” was released in March 2022 with the aim of enhancing the country’s cooperation with the resource-rich and rapidly transforming region. In pursuance of the aforesaid objective, suitable government institutes / organisations affiliated to concerned ministries were encouraged to take membership of UArctic, Finland. Launched in 2001, the UArctic is an international cooperative network based in the Circumpolar Arctic region (with more than 150 members), consisting of higher educational institutions (universities & colleges), research institutions and other indigenous organizations with an interest in promoting education and research in the Arctic region. Towards this IMU filed for nominations for the membership of UArctic. Members of UArctic voted unanimously in favour of accepting IMU as a Non-Arctic member of UArctic. IMU intends to seek to collaborate with the member educational institutions to further India’s Arctic Policy.
BIMSTEC Scholarship Scheme
In pursuant to PM Narendra Modi’s announcement in the 5th BIMSTEC Summit held in Colombo in March 2022 to enhance studies in the Marine Sciences, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had proposed to extend its existing BIMSTEC scholarship to Indian institutions specializing in maritime studies/sciences, or with strong departments in maritime studies/sciences. The target beneficiaries of the BIMSTEC scholarship scheme are students from BIMSTEC member states (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Thailand comprise the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectorial Technical and Economic Cooperation) who wish to pursue Post Graduate and Ph.D courses in Maritime sciences/studies in Indian institutions of renown. In this regard, IMU has been requested to indicate its position to participate (5 scholarship of Ph.D or PG level) in the above mentioned MEA funded scholarship scheme. IMU welcomed this development and plans are afoot by IMU to submit a formal proposal to MEA indicating the financial structure and admission procedures that will be followed for foreign students.
National Education Policy 2020 (NEP 2020) – Development of Micro Credit Courses (MCCs)
The NEP 2020 recommends a revamp of syllabi for programmes offered by all Universities to make higher education more student-centric and multi-disciplinary by the development of Micro Credit Courses (MCCs) which is also in-line with Maritime India Vision (MIV) 2030. Generally, the revision of syllabi for long courses take place once in five years. In between, a usual need is felt to introduce new content to equip the students with latest changes in technology and in practices. MCCs are well suited for such purposes as they can be flexible in size, content and can be introduced in an incremental fashion from introduction stages to focussed topics. In line with the NEP 2020, IMU endeavours to implement 9 MCCs during the academic year 2023-24, in the first phase. A few other MCCs are under development which will be launched shortly.
Women Empowerment at IMU
India is gradually moving forward to ensure larger participation and empowerment of women in every sphere of life. Time and again, it is reiterated by the PM that the New India’s thinking is not limited to women’s development; rather, it has embarked on a development journey under the leadership of women. IMU endeavours to provide educational opportunities to women to demonstrate their capabilities. It is heartening to note that the intake of female students has been growing at IMU from 13 students in 2014, to 123 students in 2022. IMU recently entered into MoU with M/s BW Global United LPG India for giving scholarship to 50 deserving Female students of IMU. IMU is pursuing to explore more avenues to encourage more Female students to join the Maritime field.
India on its way to attain ‘Vishwa Guru’ status
It is envisaged/aspired that India should once again attain the status of ‘Viswha Guru’ – the hub of innovation and knowledge to come up with sustainable and innovative solutions to the challenges faced by mankind. The progress towards this direction can be clearly from the facts that Indian seafarers employed has grown from 1,17,090 in 2014 to a remarkable 2,50,071 in 2022, registering an increase of almost 114% in just nine years. On similar lines IMU’s global supply of Maritime trained manpower has also increased from 882 in 2014 to 1106 in 2022.
Maritime India Vision 2030 (MIV 2030)
MIV 2030, a blue print formulated by the Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways, to ensure coordinated and accelerated growth of India’s maritime sector in the next decade. In this connection, a task force comprising the officials of IMU has been constituted to work closely in coordination with the Maritime Vision Implementation Committee of the Ministry to ensure the successful implementation of the initiatives identified for IMU under MIV 2030. IMU launched the Policy Research Cell, C-PRiMeS in November 2022 and had conducted the G20 University Connect with National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS); wherein experts deliberated on Maritime verticals to pass on suggestions to the G20 Secretariat. IMU has developed syllabus for maritime personnel on Inland Vessel courses for the Inland Water Authority of India (IWAI) under the Inland Vessels Act, 2021. IMU is currently developing a MBA programme exclusively for Seafarers who hold the Certificate of Competency. This is inline with the Governments initiatives for “Karmayogi”. IMU is in the final stages of the Consultancy Project for the development of the for Autonomous Survey Craft (drifter drone) on self-propulsion mode for energy efficient river survey.
IMU’s steps towards mission “Karmayogi”
IMU has provided our Faculty exposure to the international practices and training at Global level, by nominating them to attended courses/ training/ Seminar/ Conferences or visits such as in course offered by International Maritime Law Institute (IMLI), France, Singapore Maritime Week in April 2023, Hong Kong Maritime week 2022, visit to the Port of Antwerp, Belgium in the recent past. Recently a Faculty of IMU has been selected for Faculty Exchange Programme to the University of Malaya under the flagship of ASEAN-India Network of Universities (AINU). IMU conducts Training Programmes for the new employees and existing employees/ officers of Major Ports, Tamil Nadu State Department of Archaeology. IMU also impart training to IES officers and the Officers of Dredging Corporation of India from time to time. Currently, IMU is in talk with the Gujarat Maritime Board to develop short-term and long-term courses for their officers, which will enable them with decision making.
National Maritime Heritage (Virasat aur Vikas)
While reviewing the work at National Maritime Heritage in October 2022, the Hon’ble Prime Minister had emphasised on the rich Maritime Heritage of India, and how it is forgotten and mentioned the importance of maintaining such heritage. IMU entered into a MoU with the Archaeological Survey of India, Chennai for carrying out an archaeological survey under water for the remains off Korkai, Tamil Nadu, to search for evidence for the remnants of ships/ structures/ port sites. One phase of the survey has been completed, the second phase is underway.
Financial Support from Government of India
Towards creation / enhancement of Academic Infrastructure of IMU, Government of India released Rs. 170 Cr., during 2014-15 to 2018-19 and sanctioned Rs. 200 Cr. for 2022-23 to 2025-26. This includes PM infra scheme projects to the tune of Rs. 9.50 Cr. which covers Construction of Innovation lab, Simulator and Lab equipment.
With the above funding already released, IMU completed the new campuses in Visakapatnam (Sabbavaram), Chennai (Semmencherry) and Kochi and dedicated them to the nation. Campuses in Kolkata, Navi Mumbai and Mumbai Port were upgraded with new academic buildings, hostels, laboratories, workshops etc. A state of the Art Workshop was established collaborating with HMT in Chennai. Simulators, Lab equipment, computing facilities, Wi-Fi, e-Books etc. were added for enhanced learning. With the new allocation, remaining gaps are taken up and academic infrastructure is further enhanced and modernised.
