New agreement aims to promote women’s maritime education

In June 7, Women’s International Shipping and Trading Association (WISTA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers, in London. The two organisations will cooperate to offer five scholarships annually, over the next 10 years, to individuals nominated by WISTA International. The scholarship will cover the Foundation Diploma programme at The Institute.

The goal of the scholarship programme is to provide individuals with deeper knowledge  of the maritime industry– the Foundation Diploma is ideal for individuals with maritime experience who are interested in gaining additional practical and commercial skills and knowledge.

The cooperation aims to enhance the presence of a diverse and inclusive workforce, by promoting advancement opportunities for women in the maritime industry, according to Julie Lithgow, director of The Institute.

In addition to a general shipping component, the diploma allows an individual to select a specialized subject area. These are dry cargo chartering, ship operations and management, ship sale and purchase, tanker chartering, liner trades, port agency, logistics and multimodal transport, port and terminal management, offshore support industry, shipping law, maritime insurance and shipping finance.

“This is a tremendous opportunity for individuals and companies to enhance the level of education and knowledge in the industry,” said Karin Orsel, president of WISTA International. “We’re very excited to be coordinating with The Institute to make these scholarships available and provide professional development opportunities for female leaders in the maritime industry.”

The scholarship programme is available to all WISTA members worldwide. Individuals must be nominated by their National WISTA Association by June 23, 2017. The first scholarship cohort will begin their studies in September 2017.