KINGSTON, Jamaica – The Caribbean Maritime University (CMU) says it has entered into a partnership with the Maritime Authority of Suriname (MAS) and Suriname Foundation for Logistics Training (FLT) to establish a campus there.
Education and Youth Minister, Fayval Williams, with Caribbean Maritime University (CMU) President, Professor Andrew Spencer, during the press briefing.It said that the collaboration is intended to bring world-class maritime and logistics education to the region and provides new training and career opportunities for Suriname’s workforce.
Speaking at a press briefing marking the start of Maritime Awareness Week, Education and Youth Minister, Fayval Williams, welcomed the collaboration.
“The school has done phenomenally well over the decades in empowering our students in the maritime sector, exposing them to just a wide array of jobs that are available there, and, as you know, our graduates are in demand in the maritime sector,” she said.
CMU President, Professor Andrew Spencer, noted the importance of broadening the university’s regional reach.
“Where I think we need to have the greatest level of growth and development is in our Caribbean outlook. We are a Caribbean maritime university, and the model we’ve been using, so far, is to partner with institutions.
“So, for example, the Sir Arthur Lewis College in St Lucia, and in a 2+2 arrangement, the University of Guyana as well as Antigua State College… and we’ve been doing a lot of that throughout the region,” he said.
The Suriname Maritime Institute will be rebranded under CMU, setting the stage for innovative programmes and initiatives tailored to enhance the skills and expertise of individuals in the South American country’s maritime and logistics industries.
A working group, comprising representatives from CMU, MAS and FLT, has been established to oversee the transition and development of the new campus that from November will provide short courses in maritime and logistics as an initial step towards building a skilled workforce in Suriname.
Professor Spencer said Suriname was chosen as the location for the new campus “for a number of reasons”, adding “it’s strategic.
“We just thought it made sense because Suriname has onshore oil. But they also are now tapping into offshore oil exploration in the same way that Guyana and others would have.
“So we thought the time was right for us to have a presence there, because we are a technical oil and gas type institution, and we provide a programme in advanced liquefied petroleum operations. We have a degree in chemical tank operations, so it’s our kind of playfield. But, more importantly, they requested our presence,” Professor Spencer said highlighting the valuable certifications and expertise that the university can offer to students in Suriname.
“The maritime space is similar to a lawyer who does their LLB at UWI (University of the West Indies) and can’t practise until they’ve gone to [the] Norman Manley [Law School]; we offer that certification to get people up to speed,” he said.
“So even the institutions throughout the region who offer degrees in shipping or in maritime, there’s no way for an individual to practise in the way they ought to until they get the STCW (International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers) certification, which only the CMU can give. So, our presence there will help them greatly.”
