Shanghai Maritime University

Extract from original article in NORDEN News Magazine.

Extended co-operation with Chinese talent

In 2005, NORDEN established a programme in co-operation with Shanghai Maritime University (SMU), one of China’s leading institutions within maritime education. The programme was opened with the foundation of two new scholarships: The NORDEN Scholarship and The NORDEN Best Educator Award under which NORDEN will make grants available each year to five students and two professors, who have made an outstanding contribution at the SMU.

The NORDEN Scholarship will be awarded every year to the five best third-year students who will each receive RMB 10,000. The NORDEN Best Educator Award will – together with a cheque of RMB 5,000 - be awarded to two teachers or professors from the faculties elected by the SMU students as the best of the university. The professors are honoured for their teaching, research and integrity.

Both programmes will initially run for five years.

”The first scholarships were presented by Her Highness Princess Alexandra in Beijing on 30 November 2005 with a lot of pomp and circumstance. Since then the co-operation between NORDEN and SMU has developed considerably – much more, in fact, than NORDEN had initially imagined”, says Peter Borup, the manager of NORDEN’s Singapore office.

Workshop with students

In March 2006, NORDEN’s management held a workshop in Shanghai with 50 students from the SMU who had been chosen because they had produced the best essays about the future of Chinese shipping and about their own wishes for their future careers. The essays were discussed in workshops and held up against NORDEN’s business model and operation. One of the conclusions was that the students no longer focus on the salary alone, but now make a large – and increasing – point of becoming involved in the decision making, in gaining independent responsibility, and in personal and professional development; for example, through travels and assignments abroad.

”We appreciate this input because it confirms that NORDEN, with the organisation we have chosen at our overseas offices, including the office in China, will have good opportunities for attracting the Chinese talents in the future”, says Peter Borup.

Trainee programme

As a result of the programme, NORDEN has set up a trainee programme, where students from the SMU come to work at NORDEN’s head office in Copenhagen for periods of 12 months. The first student – Ms Echo Zhang – left for Copenhagen at the end 2006. Since March 2006, she worked as a trainee at NORDEN’s office in Shanghai, where she assisted in preparing shipping contracts. From the end of 2006, NORDEN employs another two students from the SMU at the Shanghai office.

From another viewpoint

It has also been agreed that two professors from the SMU have attended a three-months development programme at NORDEN’s head office in Copenhagen. They were introduced to the operation of NORDEN’s Dry Cargo and Tanker Departments and to market conditions and NORDEN’s strategy.

“We really have a lot of expectations for this visit, because subsequently we will enter into a close dialogue with them about their impressions. What do they see as NORDEN’s specific strengths, and where do we have development issues? We will also gain valuable input about the differences between Western and Chinese shipping, which we will be able to use in our strategy work and in the daily work at the Shanghai office”, Peter Borup said (prior to their visit in Copenhagen), who has been assigned as an adjunct professor at the SMU. Two to four times per year he will give workshops about shipping strategy to the students.

“This will give us valuable input about Chinese shipping of today and tomorrow and simultaneously lead to a close dialogue with the students who will exert a great influence on Chinese shipping in the long term. That way we will get in touch with potential talents, and those are two of the main goals of the programme”, Peter adds.

Initially, the SMU programme runs over five years.

Read the original article in NORDEN News Magazine (1.06 Mb) . In  Danish (1.06 Mb) .