[9 January 2009]
Singapore Management University and Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers join hands to provide shipping education and training

Singapore, 9 January 2009 (Friday) – The International Trading Institute at the Singapore Management University (“ITI@SMU”) and the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers (Singapore Branch) (“ICS”) announced today that they have entered into a partnership to jointly develop and deliver shipping related courses with the objective of raising professional standards across the shipping industry.

The collaboration – the first time ITI@SMU is engaging a knowledge partner in ICS as the internationally recognised professional body representing shipbrokers, ship managers and agents worldwide – includes broad ranging cooperation such as developing a new “ICS-ITI Professional Shipping Programme” modeled after the existing ICS distance learning Tutorship Programme which leads to certification. In addition to providing a slate of professional education courses for the industry, the cooperation will also bring in guest lecturers and speakers for talks open to industry and SMU undergraduates who are enrolled in the International Trading Track under the Bachelor of Business Management (Finance major) degree programme.

The “ICS-ITI Professional Shipping Programme” is intended to prepare candidates to take the Professional Qualifying Examinations or the Foundation Diploma conferred by ICS. This is the only globally recognised professional qualification in shipping for personnel in all spheres of the shipping industry. Courses to be offered include Shipping Business, Ship Sale & Purchase and Tanker Chartering. Registration is targeted to open from January 2009 and applications can be made through ITI@SMU at www.smu.edu.sg/centres/iti.

This initiative is supported by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA). A course fee subsidy of up to 60% from the MPA's Maritime Cluster Fund (MCF) will be given to eligible participants who attend and successfully complete the programmes. This funding support will make shipping and related programmes even more accessible to the local maritime industry. Set up to strengthen business and manpower capabilities in Singapore's maritime cluster, the MCF supports initiatives which include developing local maritime manpower and training infrastructure.

Vice Chairman of the ICS, Captain Subhangshu Dutt said: “This joint initiative would make the professional qualification more accessible to residents of Singapore and the region. It will be a step in the right direction in achieving Singapore's vision to be an International Maritime Centre.”

Associate Professor Annie Koh, Academic Director of ITI@SMU and Dean of Executive and Professional Education at SMU said, “Through our partnership with ICS, ITI@SMU hopes to reach out to the shipping fraternity which forms a crucial link in the international trading value chain. We have also recently partnered with New York based Energy Management Institute to develop and deliver energy-related education and outreach events in Singapore. Through more of such collaborations with industry experts and knowledge partners such as ICS, we look forward to strengthening and expanding the role ITI@SMU plays in providing thought leadership to enable the trading sector.”

About the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers

The Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers is the only internationally recognized professional body representing shipbrokers, ship managers and agents throughout the world. With 24 branches in key shipping areas, 3,500 individuals and 120 company members, ICS membership represents a commitment to maintaining the highest professional standards across the shipping industry. A major provider of education and training, the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers sets and examines the syllabus for membership providing the shipping industry with highly qualified professionals. Members of ICS are part of an internationally recognised network of shipping professionals who not only work towards high professional ethical standards of trust, but who also have proven knowledge, competence and understanding of the broad spectrum of shipping business.

About the International Trading Institute at Singapore Management University

The International Trading Institute (“ITI”) is a tripartite collaboration between SMU, International Enterprise (IE) Singapore and leading industry partners. ITI aims to springboard Singapore's leadership in the arena of international trading. It is the first in the world to be set up within a university with a specialist focus on international trading and supported by a unique public-private partnership. The objectives of the ITI are to deliver training and education at the undergraduate as well as professional and executive levels, to conduct and disseminate high quality applied academic research, to provide consultancy services and undertake regional consulting projects for trading firms as well as to organise forums and discussion groups to understand the needs and challenges of the industry.