The Emirates International Maritime Academy (EIMA) has joined hands with the Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT) to produce new cadre of Emirati maritime engineers and seafaring experts.

The MoU was signed by Khamis Juma Buamim, the chairman of Drydocks World and Maritime World and chairman of EIMA, and Dr Tayeb Kamali, the VC of the Higher Colleges of Technology.

EIMA is an emerging maritime educational and training provider in the Middle East with the vision and objective of becoming the Gulf’s Centre of Excellence for maritime education and is already considered a leading institution in this field.

The HCT is the UAE’s largest higher education institution with 20,000 male and female students attending 17 campuses throughout the emirates. It has a reputation for innovative, technology-driven learning offering a range of work-relevant programmes designed to meet the needs of the UAE’s diverse economy.

Under the terms of the MoU, the parties will work together on developing a partnership for academic cooperation and training in the general maritime field including seafarer, maritime engineering and naval architecture programmes.

The scope of the future agreement between the parties will see HCT grant to EIMA preferred institute status for conducting HCT’s practical and technical training related to marine engineering, naval architecture and the internationally prescribed Standards for Training, Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW) safety-based courses for seafarers within the Academy.

Under any formal agreement EIMA will provide HCT students studying seafaring with a range of industry-relevant and accredited short courses, including the STCW, SOLAS, IMO, OPITO, NTA and DNV courses.

In addition, it is proposed that HCT students will have access to EIMA facilities for work experience, as well as at Drydocks World Dubai (DDWD) which would provide full facilities for technical training and experiential exposure at its shipyard.

The parties agree that the scope of any future project and relationship will include the HCT providing faculty members and resources for managerial skills and leadership training offered by EIMA.

The HCT would also offer to the academy and DDWD education and training programmes in courses such as leadership and Maritime Engineering and Naval Architecture.

Khamis Juma Buamim said this was a landmark association between two great organizations of the UAE which represented the embodiment of the vision of its wise leadership.

"The MoU will be the basis for providing a firm foundation for maritime education and training to students who wish to be a part of the rapidly growing maritime, oil, gas, energy & offshore sectors," stated the official.
 
"We aim to promote academic cooperation, share best practice, promote technological and academic research and provide career choices for students and young academics from the UAE & regionally. This will eventually lead to enhancing and professionalizing the quality of services on offer within the sector, he added.

Dr Tayeb Kamali described the agreement as a further step in advancing HCT’s maritime programmes.

“We are proud to develop the UAE’s first bachelor degrees for the maritime industry, and look forward to the potential enhancement of these with the relevant practical experience and safety short courses offered by the EIMA and Drydocks World,” he said.

The current infrastructure at EIMA can accommodate up to 20,000 students a year and the plan is to develop a maritime centre of excellence including the establishment of a research institute with the largest Towing Tank facility in the world.

This centre will enable industry players in the shipping, maritime, oil, gas, energy and offshore industry to fully meet their skill requirements and attract a global student base in the UAE by 2020.-TradeArabia News Service