In International Shipping News 20/04/2015
For the purpose of establishing a strategic partnership with academia to hire fresh graduates who meet the needs of institutions for qualified national calibers; Emirates Classification Society “Tasneef” participated in the 11th Maritime Engineering Excellence Forum organized by the Higher Colleges of Technology in Abu Dhabi for their students under the title “Innovation in the UAE Maritime Industry”. This forum constitutes a platform for discussing the most important developments and innovations in the maritime industry in the UAE and available opportunities for those interested in joining the field from students and investors.
“Tasneef” encouraged students to enroll in its educational and training programs and its engineering, maritime and other applied sciences programs provided to students of the higher colleges of technology, to help them get into the field of maritime engineering, which is expected to be one of the highest paying fields along with having various investment opportunities and treasures representing a heaven for entrepreneurs and those who seek new opportunities in trade during the next decades; which are seen to witness major economic transformations in the world especially that we are approaching the beginning of the post-oil era.
Eng. Rashid AlHebsi, CEO of Tasneef emphasized “the field of maritime engineering represents a young ground for innovation, and research and development, and there is no one other than students and young people during their academic life that is more capable of innovation and entrepreneurship in the field. This is exactly what we promise our students who are enrolling in Tasneef’s Maritime Academy through providing support for and the adoption of their researches and projects and by working hand in hand with the technology colleges as well in order to take advantage of their programs and their academic and research equipment towards delivering new engineering solutions”.
Al Hebsi also pointed out that the maritime sector is a sector thirsty for creative engineering solutions especially with the emergence of new global trends on the level of providing economic alternatives to fuel ships, increase its operational efficiency, and strengthen it with the latest communication and technology systems in order to employ its area in the highest possible degree in shipping and loading, as well as make ships and maritime facilities more environmentally friendly to the marine environment, expressing his pride of the fact that the largest and most sophisticated ships in the world are manufactured in the UAE today.
Al Hebsi also reviewed Tasneef’s achievements in this regard over the past few years saying “in Tasneef we managed to launch the Sahara standard for ship-building in hot climates to reduce its manufacturing and operational costs by 15%, we also participated in the drafting of the UAE Yacht Code, the first of its kind in the world to ensure the safety of cruise ships and luxury boats, all of these were professional scientific and engineering innovations developed by our experts, and we are constantly in need of talents and national expertise which further increase our track record in this field”.
Al Hebsi concluded his presentation pointing out that investment in building qualified national caliber and opening the door for them to go into the field of work, innovation and the registration of patents; represents the best kind of investment and the most profitable and is considered the most intelligent choice for planning a professionally successful life as well as an important service provided by the people of this country for their people and nation.
Partnering with the Oil and Gas Sector
Considering that a great deal of the UAE’s oil and gas reserves lies under the waters of the Gulf, representatives of national oil and gas companies had a strong presence in this forum, especially Mr. Darwish Abdulla Al Qubaisi, Director of Shared & Technical Services Directorate in ADNOC , who focused on the importance of the maritime sector in the oil and natural gas industry in the UAE, speaking of the significance of continuous collaboration between the two sectors to find joint solutions, the purpose of which is to develop the UAE’s economy in accordance with world-class standards.
In addition to Abdulkareem Al Masabi, Vice President of Ports Operations, ADPC also talked about the latest implemented developments and of the importance of increasing local and national participation in the process of innovation.
Higher Education in the Service of National Maritime Agendas
On his part, Dr. Martin Renilson, Dean of the Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT) at Abu Dhabi, expressed the commitment of the HCT’s to offer students of technical institutes more specializations in marine architectural engineering, logistics, maritime business and maritime law in order to support the national maritime strategy with national calibers, and to open up more options for national calibers that enable them to pursue jobs that rise up to their professional and career ambitions. Moreover, he considered the provision of maritime training courses in the UAE directly feasible through reducing training expenses abroad which are much more costly.
Renilson pointed out that the college is happy to organize this forum which brought together national and academic institutions, privet sector companies, investors and students in a common platform in order to develop an integrated vision for the future that goes hand in hand with the national UAE strategy for next generations.
Emirates’ Classification Society “Tasneef” strongly participates in order to support maritime education through the inauguration of the Tasneef Academy for training in the maritime sector, as the first academy specialized in ship classification and related sectors in the UAE, the capacity of which is expected to take 300-500 trainees; it will also introduce main programs that will include management of maritime projects, management of maritime security, management of maritime safety, inspection of ports and maritime navigation, auditing and insurance in addition to other sub-disciplines in the field.
