The Chennai based
Indian Maritime University has launched a Center for Policy Research, a
Maritime Think tank first of its kind in the country to act as a knowledge base
for the Industry. It was inaugurated by Minister for Ports Sarbananda Sonawal.
Mr Sonwal was in the university to preside over the seventh convocation.
Creation of the centre
assumes significance in the light of forays the country is making in the blue
economy which involves tapping of natural resources from below the ocean.
Speaking on the
occasion, Mr Sonowal, said while we improve our infrastructure, we must equip
ourselves to secure optimum utilization of the opportunity at hand as Ocean
based Blue Economy is the next sunrise sector for development.
Apart from traditional
sectors like shipping, offshore mineral exploration, fishing, undersea cable
and tourism, we must equip our economy to take the best advantage from the
upcoming sectors like Aqua culture, marine biotechnology, ocean energy and sea
bed mining etc. This can be done only through training our talent pool with the
best possible knowledge and training on modern marine technologies which is
being made possible here at IMU.
In order to improve the
training module with an aim to expose the students to the best minds of the
sector, the students of IMU are being imparted training under the Global
Initiative of Academic Networks (GIAN) scheme.
In order to strengthen
the capacity of IMU in industrial research, consultancy and policy studies, the
IMU with the support of the Institute of Marine Engineers India (IME-I) has
established a Chair position, and with the Company of Master Mariners of India
(CMMI), the professional exposure for cadets and students are being done.
A Cumulative
Professional Development Allowance (CPDA) of ₹3 lakhs for three years for the
training of faculty has also been introduced. The IMU also has a tie up with
the National Institute of Advanced Study (NIAS), Bengaluru and Research &
Information System (RIS), New Delhi to work on the policy research of the
Maritime economy. A Career Advancement Scheme at IMU for fast track career
growth of faculty, nomination of students for various training programmes has
been going on at Antwerp Port Training Centre in Belgium.
A project worth Rs
21.94 lakhs awarded to IMU by Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI)
for‘Development of Energy Efficient River survey drifter drone
(Autonomous survey craft)’on Self-Propulsion Model (SPM) are a few
among the overall achievements of IMU in the recent years.
A project worth Rs 57.50
Lakh was sanctioned by Tamil Nadu Government for conducting offshore
Reconnaissance Survey of a Sangam Age Korkai Port, Tamil Nadu is one of the
recent Research project undertaken by IMU in association with NIOT, Chennai.
