The Institute of Maritime Studies, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, UNN, has expanded its academic programmes to include five new courses to the existing curriculum. The Institute has equally expanded its programmes to include doctoral degree programme.
The newly introduced programmes include Maritime Blue Economy; Maritime Disaster Risk Management, Maritime Economics and Trade, Marine Ocean Engineering, Maritime Cruise, Tourism, Tourism, Health and Hospitality Management.
Director of the Institute, Prof. Florence Orabueze, who disclosed this on Wednesday at a two-day workshop at the Enugu Campus of the University, said that before now, they only had four PGD and M.Sc levels: Maritime Business Management, Maritime Business and International Logistics, Maritime Law, Regulations and Policy as well as Maritime Telecommunications.
“The Institute under my leadership has expanded the curriculum of the Institute to include 5 new programmes from certification to Ph.D programmes to provide a cutting edge, broad-based opportunity for the teeming population of interested candidates, whose passion to build academic and professional career to the peak in Maritime sector needs to be supported and encouraged to the fullest.
“The new programmes recently approved by the College of Postgraduate Studies of our prestigious University include PGD, M.Sc, and Ph.D courses in Maritime Blue Economy, Maritime Disaster Risk Management, Maritime Economics and Trade, Marine Ocean Engineering, Maritime Cruise, Tourism, Health and Hospitality Management,” she disclosed.
Prof. Orabueze equally said that the Institute would use the two-day workshop to unveil the first edition of the Institute’s journal, “the University of Nigeria Maritime Studies and Research Journal,” which is a “product of the visionary dedication of the present Management and Staff of the Institute, birthed out of the need to nurture and grow international and local content in Maritime research and publication.”
She noted that there was need for the retraining workshop with the theme: “Retraining the Trainers: Fostering a Culture of Academic Excellence,” because the world is evolving and the University and the Institute have to adapt to the changing trend, hence the need the change residual knowledge arose.
“We have the culture of not only training the trainers, somebody will not use the residual knowledge of 20 to 30 years ago to go into the classroom,” she said pointing out that in a globalised world that is ever changing, they also have to change.
The Director of the Institute disclosed she came in less than two years ago to bring innovation to the Institute and as a result in February she conducted a conference and also set a pace to expand the programme of the Institute to accommodate more people and to introduce doctoral programmes and also launched a research.
“If we have to move in research, and teaching and education in Maritime industry, we need to retrain the trainers. This is what we are doing at this workshop and we are urging others that they must set the pace of retaining the people that they are using,” she suggested.
Speaking at the occasion, the Vice Chancellor of the University, Prof. Simon Uchenna Ortuanya, said the Maritime Industry is a growing one and that UNN should not be left behind, hence the retraining workshop.