A Senior Lecturer at the Dar Es Salaam Maritime Institute (DMI), Tanzania Dr Wilfred Johnson Kileo underscored the need for collaborations between African educational institutions to foster growth.
According to Dr Kileo, forming partnerships between universities, essentially in maritime education and training would ensure that they unlocked potential within the continent’s blue economy.
Dr Kileo who doubles as a Deputy Rector, Academic Research and Consultancy made those remarks during a presentation at the Regional Maritime University (RMU) in Accra on Thursday as part of their three-day working visit to Ghana.
He said the DMI was committed to collaborating with the RMU to improve upon the standards of maritime education and ultimately utilise opportunities within the blue economy.
“In order to have a successful maritime education and training that unlock the blue economy opportunities, DMI determines to collaborate with RMU for mutual benefits of the institutions and Africa at large,” he stated.
He said, following a tour of the RMU facilities on Wednesday, they realized they could benefit from some of the state-of-the-art infrastructure available and tap into some of the expertise.
He mentioned that they could have exchange programmes where lecturers and students would visit each other’s countries to benefit from their training.
“With the training facilities available in RMU and an effective collaboration, we look forward to a new DMI that would lead the charge as far as the growth of the blue economy in Africa is concerned,” he stressed.
In his presentation, he spoke about the mandate of the DMI in maritime education and training with a focus on ensuring that young people receive appropriate training to impact the maritime sector on the continent and the world at large.
Founded in 1978 he said, the DMI is focused on unlocking the potentials of the blue economy through maritime education, training, research, and consultancy in various areas including marine transport and nautical science, international trade and marine law, engineering, shipping and logistics, procurement as well as shipping economics.
The DMI delegation was led by the Rector, DMI, Dr Tumaini S. Gurumo with other management members, the Head of Legal Unit, Adv. Veronica Ndahani Sudayi, Senior Instructor C/Eng. Deism Danford Mlay and Crew Agency Officer Capt. Hamis Omari Kikupuzo.
The team from DMI had been in the country for a couple of days and began deliberations which would culminate into a long-lasting partnership between the RMU.
The Ag. Vice Chancellor of the RMU, Dr Jethro W. Brooks Jr together with other management members were pleased to welcome the delegation and committed to working together to achieve a common goal.
“We look forward to signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) which would see the two institutions working together to impact the maritime sector in Africa,” he stated.
