IMUs new centre in Kochi

Updated on: Tuesday, August 25, 2009

The Indian Maritime University (IMU) is expanding its horizons to meet the growing demand for trained professionals in the maritime sector. Headquartered in Chennai, IMU has campuses at Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkata and Visakhapatnam. As part of its ambitious plans to set up its centres across the country, the university launched its first centre in Kochi on Saturday.

In an interaction with The Hindu-EducationPlus on the sidelines of the inaugural session, P. Vijayan, Vice-Chancellor of IMU, said that the varsity has plans to open centres in various maritime States including Orissa, Gujarat, Karnataka and Goa.

Established on November 14, 2008, by an Act of Parliament, IMU is set to play a key role in the development of human resource for the maritime sector, Mr. Vijayan said. He said that the university would provide and promote maritime studies, training and research in all branches of learning in the maritime sector.

The university offers graduate, post-graduate and doctoral programmes. It also offers one-year diploma in nautical science leading to the award of B.Sc. degree; three-year B.Sc. degree in nautical science; four-year B.E. in marine engineering, four-year B.Tech. in naval architecture and ocean engineering.

Mr. Vijayan said that the university also plans to start a two-year MBA in shipping and port management and a one-year executive MBA in martime management.

The university has under its fold seven government maritime training and research institutes that include National Maritime Academy, Chennai; Marine Engineering and Research Institute (MERI), Mumbai; Lal Bahadur Shastri College of Advanced Maritime Studies and Research, Mumbai; Training Ship Chanakya, Navi Mumbai; National Ship Design and Research Centre, Visakhapatnam; Indian Institute of Port Management, Kolkata, and MERI, Kolkata.

Mr. Vijayan said that the university’s headquarters will come up on 300 acres situated between the East Coast Road and the Rajiv Gandhi Expressway in Chennai.

Work on the Rs.300-crore project is likely to be completed by next year. The headquarters will house the academic and administrative blocks, national maritime complex consisting of a maritime art gallery, maritime museum, marine food court and an international convention centre.

The Vice-Chancellor said that the Kochi centre of the IMU would initially come up at the 10 acres in the land provided by the Cochin Port Trust. Forty students have joined for the diploma in nautical science course (leading to the award of B.Sc. degree in nautical science) at the Kochi centre.

Students were selected on the basis of an all-India test conducted by the IMU. Mr. Viayan said that the maximum intake at the centre was 40. The course is also open to girls. Twenty girl students have joined the programme offered at the Chennai campus of the university. The course fee is Rs.2.2 lakh, he said.

More details about the programmes can be had from Indian Maritime University, East Coast Road, Uthandi, Chennai-600 119. Phone: 044-24530343/345. www.imu.tn.nic.in.

IMUs new centre in Kochi

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