Further to a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the World Maritime University (WMU) and the Jordan Academy for Maritime Studies (JAMS), a 3-day needs assessment visit was carried out in Jordan by WMU’s President Dr. Cleopatra Doumbia-Henry and Associate Professor Aref Fakhry from 8 to 10 October 2018.
As part of the visit, a Workshop was held jointly by WMU and JAMS on 9 October at the JAMS premises in Amman. The Workshop featured interactive sessions with key Jordanian maritime stakeholders presenting views on critical needs of the sector. The well-attended Workshop provided a clearer view of the strengths and challenges of the Jordanian maritime cluster. The majority of the speakers were WMU graduates who have assumed maritime leadership roles in Jordan.
“The 20 Jordanian graduates from WMU clearly have a significant impact on maritime capacity-building in Jordan. In September, we were pleased to welcome the first Jordanian female student. We look forward to advancing our relationship with Jordan and continuing to educate leaders who will have an impact not only on the maritime cluster of Jordan, but on the broader maritime industry,” stated President Doumbia-Henry.
Professor Mustafa Massad, President of JAMS, is a WMU graduate. He has played a significant role in advancing Jordan’s maritime cluster and will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award of the 2018 Maritime Standard in Dubai, UAE on 15 October. Regarding the WMU visit, he stated, “As a uniquely challenged country, Jordan, with a mere 26-km long coastline bordering the Gulf of Aqaba, has propelled itself into the breed of high achievers among maritime nations. The role of JAMS has been to train and educate the maritime workforce both nationally and regionally. JAMS values highly the cooperation with WMU to complement its role and mission.”
The WMU mission to Jordan also included meetings with the Director General of the Jordan Maritime Commission, Mr. Salah Ali Abu-Afifeh, a WMU graduate, as well as a visit to the Aqaba Development Corporation and the Aqaba Company for Ports Operation & Management. Overall, the visit reinforced WMU’s outreach to Jordan and helped to identify areas for further engagement by WMU in capacity-building and professional and executive training.
Founded in 2004, JAMS is a leading maritime education and training institution in Jordan, training over 1,700 students from Jordan as well as other countries. A 2015 MoU between WMU and JAMS focused on furthering academic and research cooperation.