Maritime Leaders gather in Singapore for the Inaugural MPLP

17 senior maritime representatives from 11 countries across Asia, Africa and the Caribbean embarked on the inaugural Maritime Public Leaders Programme (MPLP) today at the Nanyang Technological University’s (NTU) Maritime Studies and Infrastructure Systems Divisions, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering.

Organised by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), in partnership with NTU and supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) under the Singapore Co-operation Programme, the MPLP aims to strike a balance between both maritime-related and public administration topics and arm the participants with skills and information on the latest trends and best practices in the maritime industry.

The interdisciplinary Programme touches on diverse topics ranging from port planning and management, shipping economics and finance, maritime law and security, to public leadership and governance. Lecturers and speakers will include professors from different schools and institutes at NTU such as the S.Rajaratnam School of International Studies and the Nanyang Business School. Apart from lectures and case studies, participants will also visit Singapore’s various maritime facilities so as to gain valuable insights into the policies and processes that have enabled Singapore to grow into one of the top ports in the world.

Speaking at a welcome dinner for the progamme participants last night, Mr Lam Yi Young, MPA’s Chief Executive, said “The MPLP was conceived to provide a platform for leaders from maritime administrations across the world and industry representatives to interact and exchange experiences and ideas with each other. As an initiative under the umbrella of the Singapore Maritime Institute, the programme will also help develop Singapore as a centre for maritime education and training.”

Associate Professor Edmond Lo, Chair of NTU’s School of Civil & Environmental Engineering, said he is confident the programme will add value to the professional knowledge and expertise of the experienced maritime leaders, offering the ‘Best between East and West’. This is one of NTU’s five peaks of excellence – areas of academic focus which will propel NTU into a great global university by 2015.

“In today’s fast-changing and challenging environment, an interdisciplinary approach is needed to tackle tough issues. By leveraging on NTU’s strengths in engineering, business and public policy, the programme will feature a wide range of inter-related topics which will give these leaders the necessary edge to navigate through the rough seas ahead. Also, they are the ones who will groom the next generation of maritime leaders by imparting valuable lessons learnt from Singapore and beyond,” said the NTU Chair.

End of Release