International Journal
on Marine Navigation
and Safety of Sea Transportation
Volume 2
Number 3
September 2008
319
The Improvement of Higher MET at Vietnam
Maritime University by Enhancement of the
Linkage with Industries and International
Relations
Dang Van Uy & Pham Xuan Duong
Vietnam Maritime University, Vietnam
ABSTRACT: Vietnam Maritime University (VIMARU) is a stated-owned institution in Vietnam. Undergoing
more than half of a century of development, VIMARU has been facing to many difficulties and challenges
such as limitation of budget from government, limited and obsolete facilities, lack of teaching staff, high
density of students with very low tuition fee, and especially, limited chances for students to be trained on
board training ships, shipyards and other manufacturing sites.
For overcoming these difficulties and challenges, since 1990s, VIMARU had decesively renovated the
organization system, especially and strongly focused on the enhancement of the linkage with industries and
also, the enhancement of the international relations.
In this paper, the experiences and results from the mentioned renovation process of the Vietnam Maritime
University are presented.
1 INTRODUCTION
Established since April 1
st
, 1956 in Haiphong City,
one of the biggest ports in the North of Vietnam, the
Vietnam Maritime University (VIMARU) has
developed rapidly in the half century and is now
capable of efficiently meeting standards for maritime
education and training (MET) of the International
Maritime Organization (IMO). (Vietnam became a
member of IMO in 1984). Since 1997, the university
has made radical changes to the training syllabus
aimed at meeting stringent requirements of the
International Convention on Standards on Training,
Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers
(STCW78/95). Therefore, Vietnam’s maritime
education and training with the Vietnam Maritime
University acting as a maritime training cradle was
listed on the White List by the IMO in 2001. Today,
the university’s achievements have been attributed to
its ability to set up facilities with the application of
modern science and technology.
As for international cooperation, the university
has established relationships with a number of
maritime universities and institutions worldwide and
international organizations, especially with those in
Japan and Korea. Through such cooperative ties, the
university has signed cooperative deals in training
and the scientific research field with different
universities in Japan, Korea, China, Belgium, the
Netherlands, Australia etc. Since 2001, Vietnam
Maritime University has been recognized as the
member of the Association of Maritime Education
and Training Institutions in Asia and Pacific
(AMETIAP). Since November 2004, VIMARU has
been recognized as a full member of the
International Association of Maritime Universities
320
(IAMU). Especially, VIMARU has also been
participating in all activities of the Asia Maritime &
Fisheries Universities Forum (AMFUF) since its
establishment in 2002. Since October 2001, Japanese
Government, through Japan International
Cooperation Agency (JICA) has granted the Project-
type Technical Cooperation to Vietnam Maritime
University, namely, "The improvement of Higher
Maritime Education in Vietnam" which lasts for
three years until October 2004, worthy about US$
5.0 million. With the fruitfulness of the project,
many important activities at VIMARU have been
being enhanced and all of the projected goals have
been approached, especially in the improvement of
the qualification of VIMARU's graduates, who were
benefited with the assistance of the project.
As for professional training, the university has
taken breakthrough steps in establishing several
training centers aimed at raising student skills before
graduation. This is a strategic step in maritime
education and training in Vietnam. In the past,
university graduates often had to spend between two
to three years on probation before they could work as
officers and engineers on board ships. The probation
time has now been shortened significantly to just 12
months. The present program blends classroom
training with practical lessons, so graduates not only
have a sound theoretical background but have good
practical skills as well. Thanks to this effective
improvement of MET standards, many of captains,
chief engineers and other officers and engineers of
the university have been already employed by great
overseas shipping companies to manage and operate
dozen of new-built, super bulk carriers and modern
ships, remarking the high reputation of the
Vietnamese maritime officers and seafarers to the
world.
The Vietnam Maritime University (VIMARU) is
a pioneer in crew export and it has entered joint
ventures with leading shipping companies of Japan
and the Republic of Korea to export crew to these
two countries. VIMARU has obtained encouraging
achievements in this field.
With approval and encourage from the
Government, the university established the Flight
Dragon Shipping Company in 1992. In 1994, the
university proposed to the Ministry of Transport for
setting up the Eastern Dragon Shipping Company
and it was permitted by the Government to establish
the company. This is a joint venture between the
university’s Flight Dragon Shipping Company and
the Kamchatka Shipping Company, the Federation
of Russia. Presently, both the university’s companies
exploit and manage nine ships that operate
worldwide under direct management of VIMARU
lecturers and students.
For the purpose of enhancing the qualification of
Vietnamese seafarers, VIMARU launched a joint
venture, the Center for Training and Improvement of
Maritime Professions (VINIC) with the Nippon Steel
Shipping Co, Ltd in September 1997. The Nippon
Steel Shipping Company Limited is a member unit
of the Nippon Steel Corporation (Japan), the second-
ranking steel manufacturer in the world. The joint
venture has an investment capital of more than
US$1.7 million, especially for establishment of some
important simulator training rooms such as
RADAR/ARPA and GMDSS in both North and
South of Vietnam. Until now, VINIC has been
gradually and stably increasing the number of
qualified officers, engineers and ratings who fully
meet with the requirements of Japanese shipowners.
In January 1999, VIMARU established its Crew
Manning Center (VICMAC) to better manage crew
and officers. VICMAC is growing fast to strengthen
the trust ship-owners have given to it. For further
effective management of some companies and
centers, in August 2004, the university established
the International Shipping and Labor Corporation
(ISALCO), including VICMAC, Flight Dragon
Shipping Company and Shore-labor Export
Company.
Vietnam Maritime University was the first
university in Vietnam which successfully applied the
ISO 9001:2000 to its activities. The university has
supervised the education and training quality of
faculties of Navigation and Marine Engineering with
the application of ISO 9001:2000 since May 2003.
After very strict procedures of the assessment, in
May 2005, Vietnam Maritime University's Quality
Management System has been approved with the
Certificate of Compliance with the ISO 9001:2000.
With its strong determination of development
strategy, together with the encouraging assistance
from the Vietnamese Government, as well as the
assistance from friend institutions all over the world
and partners from industries, the Vietnam Maritime
University will soon keep pace with advanced
maritime universities in the region and worldwide.
2 THE MARITIME EDUCATION AND
TRAINING (MET) SYSTEM IN VIETNAM
The figures below show the flow chart of the MET
system and locations of the MET institutions in
Vietnam, consisting of two maritime universities and
two maritime secondary schools.
321
Fig. 1. The location of MET institutions in Vietnam
Ministry of Transport
(MOT)
Ministry of Education &
Training (MOET)
Vietnam Maritime
Administration
(VINAMARINE)
Vietnam Maritime
University (VIMARU)
HCMC University of
Transport (HUT)
Maritime Secondary
School No1
Maritime Secondary
School No2
Fig. 2. The chart of the MET system in Vietnam
Table 1. The function and assignment of the maritime
institutions in Vietnam
No.
Institution
Field of
Education in
Maritime
industry
Number
of Annual
Enrolmen
t
Level of education
and training
1.
Vietnam
Maritime
University
(VIMARU
)
Navigation
and Marine
Engineering
870
– Higher Education
(Engineer,
Bachelor) and Post
Education (PhD.,
Msc).
– Maritime officers
of 1
st
and 2
nd
classes
(1)
2.
Ho Chi
Minh City
University
of
Transport
(HUT)
Navigation
and Marine
Engineering
380
– Higher Education
(Engineer,
Bachelor) and Post
Education (PhD.,
Msc).
– Maritime officers
of 1
st
and 2
nd
classes
(1)
3.
Maritime
Navigation
1,300
– Vocational and
Secondary
School
No. 1
and Marine
Engineering
technical training.
– Maritime officers
of 3
rd
and 4
th
classes
(2)
4.
Maritime
Secondary
School
No. 2
Navigation
and Marine
Engineering
700
– Vocational and
technical training.
– Maritime officers
of 3
rd
and 4
th
classes
(2)
In which,
1 First and Second Class Maritime Officers:
− First class: Officers of Ship of of 3,000 GT and
over; Engineers of Ship with Main Engine
output of 3,000 KW and over.
− Second class: Officers of Ship of 500 GT and
less than 3,000GT; Engineers of Ship with
Main Engine output of 750 KW and less than
3,000 KW.
2 Third and Fourth Class Maritime Officers:
− Third class: Officers of Ship of 100 GT and
less than 500GT; Engineers of Ship with Main
Engine output of 150KW and less than
750KW.
− Fourth class: Officers of Ship of less than
100GT; Engineers of Ship with Main Engine
output of less than 150 KW.
Fig. 3 and Fig. 4 below show the detailed flow
charts of the MET system which currently exist in
Vietnam and the links among all levels of the
education and training.
Maritime
Secondary
School No. 1
Maritime
Secondary
School No. 2
Vietnam
Maritime
University
HCM city
University of
transport
Technical level
Vocational level
Engineer degree
(4.5 years)
Bachelor degree
(3.5 years)
Ratings for all ships or
3
rd
and 4
th
classes
Maritime officers
1
st
Class Maritime
Officers
2
nd
Class Maritime
Officer
1.5 year
2.0 years
2.0 years
Fig. 3. The MET and links among all levels of the education
and training
Maritime Secondary School
Vietnam Maritime
Maritime Secondary School
HCMC University
322
Engineer Degree
3 months for final
examination
1.5 years study
professional subjects
2 years study
fundamental subjects
National entrant
examination (math,
physics, chemistry)
Candidates from upper
high schools (12-grade)
4.5 -YEAR DURATION
Sea training
Sea training
Bachelor Degree
3 months for final
examination
1.0 years study
professional subjects
1.5 years study
fundamental subjects
National entrant
examination (math,
physics, chemistry)
Candidates from upper
high schools (12-grade)
3.5 -YEAR DURATION
Sea training
(a)
(b)
Fig. 4. The detailed MET at VIMARU a. Engineer degree;
b. Bachelor degree
Fig. 5. The Certificate of Competency system and links among
the levels of the training
3 THE IMPROVEMENT OF VIETNAM
MARITIME UNIVERSITY BY SUCCESSFUL
ENHANCEMENT OF THE LINKAGE WITH
INDUSTRIES AND INTERNATIONAL
RELATIONS
3.1 The improvement of international cooperation
Until now, VIMARU has successfully established
the official relations and cooperation with many
organizations and maritime institutions in the world,
especially with the Nippon Foundation, Ship and
Ocean Foundation (as called as the Ocean Policy
Research Foundation since April 2005), Japan
International Cooperation Agency (JICA). In 2002,
VIMARU was accepted as a member of Association
of Maritime Education and Training Institutions in
Asia Pacific (AMETIAP). In November 2004,
VIMARU was recognized as a full member of the
International Association of Maritime Universities
(IAMU) among other 45 members all over the
world. VIMARU has tried its best to contribute its
efforts to the development and improvement of
maritime education and training in the world.
In March 2005, VIMARU has joint with Korea
Maritime University, Dalian Maritime University
and Shanghai Maritime University to build up the
Asia LNG Training Center (as called as ALTC),
under the umbrella of the IAMU. Many exchanged
information and mutual cooperation agreements
have been signed between VIMARU and other
member institutions of the IAMU, especially with
Tokyo University of Science and Technology,
Marine Technical College (Japan), Korea Maritime
University, Mokpo Maritime University and etc.
VIMARU has also actively participated in the
Annual Conference of the Asia Maritime and
Fisheries Universities Forum (AMFUF) which was
founded by Korea Maritime University in 2002.
The international cooperation at VIMARU has
been highly appreciated by the Vietnamese
Government, Ministry of Transport, Ministry of
Education and Training and other authorities in
Vietnam.
3.2 The improvement of scientific research and
technology transfer activities at VIMARU
The enhancement of maritime scientific research at
VIMARU is one of the main objectives of the
university. Under the assistance of the Government
and friends all over the world, the researchers at
VIMARU have been encouraging themselves very
much and determining their new methodology of
doing research activities. Especially, VIMARU has
successfully established the Institute of Marine
Science and Technology. VIMARU also has been
successfully issuing many volumes of the Magazine
of Marine Science and Technology in both papers
and electronic versions for broadening by
VIMARU's website since 2004. Many researchers
323
were sent to Japan, Korea, EU and other countries
for participating in the international seminars,
meetings and symposiums. Many research papers
done by VIMARU lecturers were accepted in some
important international maritime magazines. With
the increasing reputation of the university, many
young lecturers of VIMARU have been accepted to
study aboard, as the World Maritime University,
Tokyo University of Marine Science and
Technology, Kobe University, Korea Maritime
University and other maritime universities in
Europe. Many researches now are under joint
programs with the professors in Japan, Korea,
Belgium, the Netherlands, Russia, Poland and etc.
3.3 The application of the Quality Management
System in compliance with ISO 9001:2000
Inheriting all the achievement of the development
strategy, Vietnam Maritime University had
determination to apply the Quality Management
System for maritime education and training in
compliance with the ISO 9001:2000 since May
2003.
In May 2005, the Directorate for Standards and
Quality of the Ministry of Science and Technology
of Vietnam has issued the Certificate of Compliance
with the ISO 9001:2000, stamped of the
QUACERT- -JAS-ANZ, for the maritime education
and training at Vietnam Maritime University. Thus,
VIMARU became the first university in Vietnam to
receive this important certificate.
VIMARU is applying this Quality Management
System for whole university and intentionally,
this QMS is going to be approved fully in the end
of the year 2007.
3.4 Impact of the improvement of education and
training to the university graduates
The graduates of the university and maritime officers
and engineers from industry who have been being
benefited by the renovation of the university are
highly appreciated by their employers according to
their better performances in comparison with those
who have no chances to receive the effectiveness of
the project. The most important evidence that the
project-benefited graduates now are able to quickly
familiarize with their duties on board ships, thus, the
retraining time on board ship for them now can be
shorten considerably. As mentioned at the
introduction of this paper, in the past, university
graduates often had to spend between two to three
years on probation before they could work as
officers and engineers on board ships. The probation
time has now been shortened significantly to just 12
months.
The lecturers of the university have been
upgraded very much according to this improvement
process, especially in the improvement of the
modern teaching methodology, the new approaching
method, and "planning before doing" philosophy.
The huge amount of revised curricula, syllabi,
teaching materials, textbooks etc was done by the
lecturers of the university.
The figures below show the number of the
graduates and maritime officers who successfully
attended the training courses using project-provided
equipment and also the technical assistance.
Table 2. The number of VIMARU's graduates benefited by
the revised and updated training curricula in 2001-2005
Academic
year
Navigation Marine Engineering
Engineer
level
Bachelor
level
Total
Engineer
level
Bachelor
level
Total
2001-2002
0 0 0 0 0 0
2002-2003
112 78 190 78 51 129
2003-2004
128 94 222 94 75 169
2004-2005
137 121 258 128 108 236
Fig. 6. The number of VIMARU's graduates benefited by the
revised and updated training curricula in 2001-2005
Table 3. The number of maritime officers and engineers
benefited by the revised and updated training curricula in 2002-
2005
Year
Navigation Marine Engineering
Management
level
Operational
level
Total
Management
level
Operational
level
Total
2002 0 0 0 0 0 0
2003 54 114 168 85 155 240
2004 81 106 187 69 133 202
2005 95 144 239 110 145 255
324
Fig. 7. The number of maritime officers and engineers
benefited by the revised and updated training curricula in
2002-2005
Table 4. The projected number of VIMARU's graduates
benefited by the revised and updated training curricula in 2005-
2010
Academic
year
Navigation
Marine Engineering
Engineer
level
Bachelor
level
Tota
l
Engineer
level
Bachelor
level
Tota
l
2005-2006
273
74
347
234
70
304
2006-2007
214
63
277
208
106
314
2007-2008
316
48
364
215
95
310
2008-2009
420
50
470
328
63
391
2009-2010
454
58
512
397
52
449
Fig. 8. The projected number of VIMARU's graduates
benefited by the revised and updated training curricula in 2005-
2010
Table 5. The number of VIMARU annual enrolments in
2001-2005
Fig. 9. The number of VIMARU annual enrolments in
2001-2005
Table 6. The number of VIMARU maritime graduates in
2001-2005
Engineer
level
Diploma
level
Total
Engineer
level
Diploma
level
Total
2001-2002 106 70
176
72 47
119
2002-2003 112 78
190
78 51
129
2003-2004 128 94
222
94 75
169
2004-2005 137 121
258
128 108
236
2005-2006 273 74
347
234 70
304
Academic year
Navigation field
Marine Engineering field
Fig. 10. The number of VIMARU maritime graduates in
2001-2005
325
Table 7. The statistics on the employment of VIMARU’s
maritime graduates in 2003-2004 (by tracing survey method)
Field
Degree
Job 2003 2004
Navigation
5 years
(Engineer degree)
Seafarer
Ocean -
going
128
(96%)
111
137
(95%)
118
Domestic 17 19
On shore 8 7
Total 134 144
3.5 years
(Bachelor degree)
Seafarer
Ocean -
going
94
(88%)
78
121
(88%)
103
Domestic 16 18
On shore 13 17
Total 107 138
Marine Engineering
4.5 years
(Engineer degree)
Seafarer
Ocean -
going
94
(80%)
80
128
(91%)
107
Domestic 14 21
On shore 25 12
Total 119 140
3.5 years
(Bachelor degree)
Seafarer
Ocean -
going
75
(90%)
66
108
(90%)
87
Domestic 9 21
On shore 8 12
Total 83 120
The followings are the biggest employers who
have the demand for VIMARU's maritime graduates:
− The Vietnam National Shipping Lines including
its sub-companies, such as Vietnam National
Shipping Co., (VOSCO), VINASHIP,
VITRANCHART, Inlaco Saigon, Inlaco
Haiphong etc.
− VINIC, a joint venture between Vietnam
Maritime University and Nippon Steel Shipping
Co., Ltd (NSS). Presently, VINIC owns more
than 450 maritime officers, engineers and ratings
who work on board 10 new-built cape-size and
panamax-size bulk carriers of NSS and other
Japanese shipowners such as Daiichi Chuo
Kissen, Nissen Kaiun, Meiho Kaiun etc. Among
those 12 ships, there are 08 ships are operated by
full Vietnamese crewmember from Master to
ratings. The Vietnamese captains and chief
engineers are highly appreciated by all
shipowners. Every year, VINIC interviews,
provides scholarships and employs about 40-48
graduates from VIMARU and dispatches them to
Japan for attending the training courses on board
ships under the direct instruction of Japanese and
Vietnamese officers and engineers. Most of them
become high qualified officers and engineers.
VINIC also recruits and employs about 30 to 40
graduates from the Maritime Secondary School
No.1 and No.2 each year for training them to be
qualified ratings on board ships.
− VICMAC, a crew manning center which belongs
to VIMARU's International Shipping and Labor
Company (ISALCO). Now VICMAC owns
MNNNNNNN more than 700 maritime officers,
engineers and ratings who work on board the
other Japanese shipowners such as Nissho
Shipping Co., Korean shipowners and
Vietnamese shipping companies.
