Despite the significant contribution that the maritime industry makes to the world economy, and Singapore’s global transshipment hub status, Singapore’s maritime sector still faces challenges in attracting talent into the industry. What can maritime companies do to attract millennials to join the sector, expand the local talent pipeline, make maritime jobs more attractive, and perhaps debunk misconceptions about the industry?

These were the issues that undergraduate teams participating in the first-ever MSC Maritime Summit Case Challenge 2019 had to grapple with. The competition was organised by the Singapore Maritime Foundation’s (SMF) Maritime Singapore Connect Office, in partnership with APL Co. Pte Ltd (APL), Jurong Port Pte Ltd (Jurong Port) and Royal Dutch Shell (Shell) to challenge students to solve real-life challenges faced by maritime companies here.

Eventually, it was SMU’s Team Meridian – comprising third year business undergraduates Ng Yan Hong, Ng Zheng Han and Oh Kah Yin Jasmine – which edged out 31 other teams to become the champions of the inaugural competition! The trio are all Operations Management majors at the Lee Kong Chian School of Business (LKCSB).

[Photo: The SMU team making their final presentation to the discerning panel of judges from the sector.]

Competition was stiff with as many as 32 teams competing this year, not to mention several rounds of judging by company representatives as the teams tackled three cases contributed by APL, Jurong Port and Shell. Having made it to the finals alongside NTU’s Team ThunderBoat and NUS’ Team Misad Ventures, Yan Hong, Zheng Han and Jasmine were given 24 hours to deliberate on a new case – ‘Strengthening Singapore’s Position as a Global Maritime Hub – Building the Talents of Tomorrow’.

The SMU trio stood out with their proposal of a comprehensive talent management solution which featured attraction strategies, namely outreach and collaboration projects (inspired by SMU-X!) and retention strategies, covering overseas attachment and parallel rotation.

[Photo: SMU business undergrads Yan Hong, Jasmine and Zheng Han receiving their prize.]

Besides Team Meridian, two other SMU teams also received merit prizes. A maritime quiz was also held during the event with 3 SMU students winning all the prizes.

It was indeed a proud day for SMU, LKCSB and SMU International Trading Institute!

[Featured photo: Yan Hong, Jasmine and Zheng Han - triumphant at the inaugural MSC Maritime Summit Case Challenge.]