MoU with SAMSA Results in Record Enrollment from South Africa

For the intake of 2013, the South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) sponsored a record number of South Africans to study at WMU, a total of 21 in the M.Sc. program, and 4 Ph.D. students. Furthering SAMSA’s commitment to maritime capacity building, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on academic cooperation was signed between SAMSA and WMU on 31 October. Commander Tsietsi Mokhele, Chief Executive Officer of SAMSA and WMU President, Dr. Björn Kjerfve, signed the agreement on behalf of their organizations in Pretoria.

The five-year agreement will enable linkages between the organizations in maritime affairs and associated fields. Under the MoU, SAMSA will fund 5-10 South African students to study in the Malmö M.Sc. program on a yearly basis, beginning with this year’s student intake. The agreement also allows SAMSA to fund additional Ph.D. students. Prior to this year’s record enrollment, there have been six WMU graduates from South Africa.

All students funded under the agreement are obligated to undertake their studies at WMU on research topics that advance the South African Maritime Agenda. In addition, WMU will assist SAMSA in the goal of enhancing international compliance of national maritime administrations under a SAMSA pan-African initiative to enhance the quality and sustainability of such maritime governance organizations.

Further considerations under the agreement include professional development courses and the potential for offering a postgraduate degree program in South Africa, facilitated by SAMSA, to establish a Southern Hemisphere Maritime Program.