Opening Remarks by Senior Minister of State For Transport Dr Lam Pin Min at the Signing Ceremony for the Maritime Business & Operations Track (MBOT)

Prof Lily Kong, President of Singapore Management University
Ms Dorte Bech Vizard, Ambassador of Denmark to Singapore

Prof Nikolaj Malchow-Møller, President of Copenhagen Business School
Ms Caroline Yang, President of Singapore Shipping Association

Ladies and Gentlemen

Introduction

1.     Good afternoon. I am pleased to join you today for the signing of two agreements, in support of SMU’s new Maritime Business & Operations Track (MBOT).

Brief history of maritime courses in SMU

2.     Maritime is a complex industry that requires talent trained in diverse skillsets and disciplines. Job roles range from commercial roles like shipbroking, maritime law and finance, to operational roles like seafaring and port operations. A critical job role in the middle of the value chain is business operations – which derives business insights from operational data, and use these insights to improve operations and meet business outcomes.

3.     To develop talent for the maritime industry, the MPA Professorship in Maritime Business Economics was set up in SMU in 2004, with an endowment of $4 million. The endowment provided SMU with the resources to bring in renowned professors and experts to Singapore to teach maritime-specific modules such as “Port Economics and Management” and “Maritime Economics and Shipping Finance”.

4.     Overtime, interest from students in maritime education grew. In response to the growing demand, SMU established the Maritime Economics Concentration in 2013, which was renamed the Maritime Economics Track (MET) in 2017. The MET is a specialised programme that blends classroom learning with overseas exchanges to the Copenhagen Business School (CBS) and immersions trips to key maritime capitals such as Rotterdam, Antwerp, Shanghai and Busan.

Positive Outcomes from MET

5.     More than 1,500 students have benefited from maritime courses offered under the MPA Professorship. I am happy to note that more than half of the MET students entered the maritime industry upon graduation.

6.     One of them is Cheng Zheng Yang, who graduated from SMU last year. He gained interest in the maritime sector after attending MET classes, and interned in several maritime companies including Pacific Radiance under MPA’s Global Internship Award. Zheng Yang is now an offshore analyst for VesselsValue, a digital platform that provides instant data on vessels to help decision-making. I am glad to hear from him that the MET and his internships had laid a strong foundation for his career in the maritime industry.

Keeping up curriculum with evolving industry needs

7.     As the maritime industry transforms in response to technological and business model disruptions and a growing focus on sustainability, our education curriculum needs to change in tandem to ensure our maritime workforce is ready for the future. In response to this, SMU, with support from the Singapore Maritime Institute (SMI) and MPA, began to review the MET curriculum in 2018. After almost a year of work, the review has been completed. The enhanced curriculum, called the Maritime Business & Operations Track (MBOT), is a track under the Operations Management major in the Lee Kong Chian School of Business.

8.     While retaining the focus on maritime business, students will also be exposed to new topics such as supply chain logistics, commodity trading and sustainable shipping. Such exposure will give them a headstart when they enter the workforce.

9.     SMU will also continue working with CBS in delivering the curriculum. I am happy to note that Associate Professor Henrik Sornn-Friese, Director of CBS Maritime, will be a MPA Visiting Professor for the MBOT in the spring semester.

10.    On this note, I am happy to be here at the signing of two agreements that will support the development of the MBOT:

a.     First, SMU and SMI will sign a Collaboration Agreement, under which more than $4 million of funding for the MBOT will be extended until 2023.

b.     Second, SMU and CBS will sign a Memorandum of Understanding to extend their partnership on exchange programmes under the MBOT.

11.    The two agreements renew the long-standing partnership between SMU, SMI, and CBS, and reflect their strong commitment to work closely to better prepare our students for the maritime industry.

Conclusion

12.    To conclude, I thank the companies and individuals who have contributed to the MBOT, either through curriculum design, or by offering internships and scholarships.

13.    To students in this room, I urge you to explore the MBOT if you have not, to get a glimpse into the exciting maritime industry. I hope that many of you will move on to become maritime professionals upon graduation, and continue building Singapore as a world leading maritime hub.

14.    I wish you a fruitful event ahead. Thank you.