Maritime Masters: building bridges between academia and industry

Forging links between academia and the business world; supporting students in tackling issues that are important to the industry; encouraging businesses to put forward topics for research; the pilot edition of Maritime UK’s Maritime Masters programme delivered exceptional results and laid the foundations for a more wide-reaching project.

The inaugural Maritime Masters Reception was held at Clarksons’ London office in November 2018 and attended by the Princess Royal. Eight post-graduate students from eight universities presented their multidisciplinary research into maritime; there was then a less formal session during which the students were able to discuss their research with guests in a more personal setting.

The audience – drawn from the maritime industry and the universities – then voted for the winning presentation. Tessa Jones, of Queen Mary, University of London, was declared the winner for her presentation on “Electronic Bills of Lading: A brave new world?”

Malcolm Willingale, who heads up the learning & development function at Clarksons, says: “The candidates fielded were excellent and the topics diverse. Having the Princess Royal attend was the icing on the cake – she took great interest and gave a detailed recap after the presentations.”

The Maritime Masters programme is ideal for forging links between academia and the business world, he says. “I came into shipping myself via the academic route and have worked with people who are very supportive of these link – it is about getting academia to understand the shipping industry, and vice versa. This is very much a two-way enrichment process.”

He adds: “This was a pilot programme – this year we hope to see more colleges/universities involved and we will also reach out more to business, encouraging owners and charterers to join the audience.”

The reception was also sponsored by Associated British Ports (ABP), whose public affairs manager, Matthew Grigor, says: “A considerable part of the Maritime 2050 agenda is a big focus on skills. The UK is proud of its maritime heritage and also of its academic institutions. This was a very constructive way to bring the two things together.”

He adds: “Once you are in this industry, it is a fascinating industry to be in – but there often isn’t the same level of interest or awareness in the wider population, especially on issues such as skills. Drawing a link between industry and academic institutions provides people with the opportunity to engage on these issues.

“The Maritime Masters programme is a great way of bridging the gap between theoretical academic study and application in the real world.”

The diversity of topics was very impressive, notes UK Chamber of Shipping policy manager Matthew Wright – highlighting presentations on the correlation between regulations and early scrapping, and on navigating under situational stress and the effects of restricted visibility.

“New, evidenced thinking is important for businesses in making investment decisions,” he says. “Feedback from industry will only improve the quality and clarity of purpose in academic research.”

This year’s event will follow a similar format, he says, but organisers will look to identify more students in advance. He adds: “We were really impressed with the number of companies that came up to us afterwards and enquired how they could link into students’ research this year. Last year the ideas were generated by the universities and students themselves. Going forward we want to encourage more suggestions from business as to what can be researched – and a good number of topics have already been proposed.”

The Maritime Masters programme provides an opportunity for students to showcase what they are doing, says Malcolm Willingale. “It helps students to shape their ideas and also gives them confidence in asking for help – they often need data, advice, coaching and mentoring.

“Ultimately, the Maritime Masters could develop into a more formalised bridge between academia and business – i.e. not just a series of one-off events, but a longer-term programme.”

Maritime Masters 2019 is sponsored by Clarksons, Royal HaskoningDHV and Associated British Ports.