Sunday, October 04, was the occasion for World Maritime University’s annual Graduation Ceremony held as usual at the Malmö City’s impressive Concert Hall in front of over 1000 dignitaries, students, staff and well-wishers. WMU’s Chancellor and IMO Secretary-General, Mr Efthimios Mitropoulos, conferred postgraduate awards on the University’s Class of 2009; 103 students from 47 countries graduating from the Malmö-based MSc programme in Maritime Affairs and the distance-learning Diploma in Marine Insurance. Of particular significance at this year’s ceremony was WMU’s first conferring of the Doctor of Philosophy award; Michael Ekow Manuel from Ghana being the deserving recipient.
In addition, the annual special awards to students were announced:
- Deepak Raj Sharma of the Indian Coast Guard won the Chancellor’s Medal for Academic Excellence
- Meenaksi Bhirugnath of the Ministry of Public Infrastructure, Land Transport & Shipping in Mauritius won the C P Srivastava Award for International Fellowship
- Anete Logina of the Maritime Authority of Latvia won the Pierre Léonard Prize for the Best Female Student
- Deepak Raj Sharma of the Indian Coast Guard won the Lloyd’s Maritime Academy dissertation prize
- Jean-Pie Gauci-Maistre of GM International Services Ltd, Malta, won the Informa Law dissertation prize
As the Guest of Honour, Mr Paul Clark, the British Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Transport, addressed the Graduands and the audience at large, encouraging the current cadre to implement their new found skills wisely on returning home while focusing their careers within the maritime industry on influencing developments positively.
Also during the ceremony, the outgoing Student Council President, Mr Ahmed Hamdy Hussein Moursy, spoke of the significance to global shipping of WMU’s unique international fellowship, where professionals from over 150 countries have now lived and studied together.
Apart from the speeches and conferring of degrees and awards, an extensive music programme, including the WMU song sung by the WMU Choir, was enjoyed throughout the afternoon’s proceedings by all.