Maersk Line commits to further support of the MEL course at Erasmus by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) covering the next two years.

 

The Chief Executive of Neptune Orient Lines (NOL), Mr Ronald Widdows, spoke today at the Graduation ceremony for students of the MSc in Maritime Economics and Logistics course (MEL) at Erasmus University in Rotterdam. Congratulating the 27 students, who are representative of 13 nations and have successfully, completed their degrees, Mr Widdows said:

 

“I believe that MEL graduates, many of whom have found employment in our own company, are among the best young professionals available in the market. With their international profile, they embody an optimal combination of practical skills, theoretical knowledge, managerial determination and market understanding.”

 

 

Amongst the students was the winner of the Prize for Student Excellence, sponsored by NOL and APL, Sebastien Renault from France for his thesis entitled “A Semi-parametric approach to second-hand ship prices.”

 

Mr Widdows commented on the award: “we have been close to MEL since its beginning, when we inaugurated the first NOL Prize for Student Excellence at the MEL graduation of 2001. I feel privileged to be invited to present the eighth of these annual awards to Sebastien this year”.

 

In congratulating his students, Director of MEL, Professor Hercules Haralambides highlighted the challenging world into which the graduates were about to enter. “You are joining the labour market in a very difficult economic situation when the global economy is heading to a possibly prolonged economic slowdown.” However he encouraged them to “adjust smoothly to the new realities, you need to understand that the best management style is the ‘ethical’ management style. Stick unswervingly to your values and beliefs,” he said.

 

Also describing this challenging environment but in more detail Mr Widdows stated, “The global container shipping industry is facing a turbulent period of collapsing profitability, with the need to reduce costs and align its capabilities to much lower demand levels. Companies face difficult choices in their asset deployment and large-scale capacity reductions are likely.”

 

He outlined a vision for the future, which he ventured would help the situation, “The industry is in desperate need of an influx of highly qualified employees with skill sets in areas such as financial restructuring and analysis, economic forecasting and change management. Without new thinking and new talent, liner shipping is doomed to repeat the failings of its recent past,” he said.

 

Concluding, “An appetite for dealing with uncertainty and the capacity to create efficiency in a reduced-scale business environment will be hallmarks of the successful next generation of shipping executives.”

 

The graduation ceremony itself was preceded by the signing of an agreement to renew the educational Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the MEL and the Maersk Group. This continues the “Maersk Line Best MEL Thesis Award”, which this year was won by Woo Jong-Kyun from Korea for his work on Liner Shipping Strategy on the Far East Asia Service Routes Using Systems Dynamics. Maersk executives will also conduct a number of master classes as part of the MEL course.

 

The MOU was signed by Prof. Hercules Haralambides, the Director of MEL, and Mr. Tom Peter Blankestijn, Director, Maersk Line. Mr Blankestijn commented: “the purpose of this award is to reward outstanding young talent; attract young talent to the maritime industry; increase awareness of the importance of maritime transport for the global economy and international trade; and to promote the study of Maritime Economics and Logistics as a distinct and well-defined branch of applied economics and international business. We are very pleased to continue our association with MEL in furthering these goals.”