China and Ghana have come together to undertake a joint programme to build the capacities of operators in the shipping and logistics industry in the West African sub-region.

With the approval of the Ministry of Education of China, the Shanghai Maritime University (SMU) has set up a joint undergraduate programme in logistics management with the Regional Maritime University of Ghana (RMU).

The programme, which began in 2010, had seen students enrolled in Africa, spending three years studying at RMU and one year at SMU after which they are awarded Bachelor of Science Degrees in Logistics Management by SMU after meeting all the requirements.

The Director of the International Office of the SMU, Dr Yu Hongrong, told the Daily Graphic in Shanghai, China that the curriculum for the programme was jointly designed by SMU and RMU.

The target number for admission each year is 35 and the programme has admitted five intakes of students, mainly from Ghana.

According to him, so far, the first intake of 36 students have completed the programme, adding that among those 36 graduates, 11 returned to SMU in September, 2014 to pursue their Master’s degree programmes.

Dr Yu said apart from the first intake of 36, a total number of 144 students from the remaining four intakes were currently taking part in the undergraduate programme.

“The first five-year contract between the two universities is just about to end and the parties are all willing to continue the cooperation and have been discussing the extension of the contract for another five years”, he said

Commenting on the prospects of the programme, Dr Yu stated, “We see the programme as a way to promote the academic exchange between SMU and RMU, and an opportunity for SMU or China to assist Ghana in her capacity building for the shipping and logistics industry”.

He said China and Ghana have a long history of relationship and expressed the hope that the collaboration between SMU and RMU will provide “a window for more people in Ghana to know SMU and to have better understanding of Shanghai in particular and China in general”