Sailing on a smooth route

African young people benefit from logistics management program co-launched by universities from the nation and Ghana, Cao Chen reports in Shanghai.

The Yufeng motor vessel run by the Shanghai Maritime University will welcome its seventh batch of African undergraduate interns this June.

Hailing from the logistics management program jointly launched by SMU and the Regional Maritime University in Accra, Ghana, these 16 students will be on board the vessel for a six-day navigation training trip to South Korea. During the training, the students will also get to visit ports in Jiangsu province and South Korea.

Previous trainees have said that the training has been beneficial to their understanding of the maritime sector.

"Getting to train on a ship allowed me to experience how international trade and logistics are done, such as the movement of cargo from the point of origin to its destination," says Benjamin Baffoe, a doctoral student in logistics engineering and management at SMU, who joined the program in 2011.

"We experienced the life of sailors and learned how they need to work hard to transport cargo all over the world. Knowing the harsh working conditions they have to endure has made me respect these professionals even more."

The 30-year-old says that, apart from the training trip, he was also impressed by highly experienced professors and industry experts in the transport, logistics and international shipping industry involved in the joint program, which he described to be "practical and instructive".

Established in 2011, the logistics management program was the first higher education program for universities and colleges in Shanghai aimed at enhancing cooperation with foreign universities beyond simple linguistic interaction.