NTU-Erasmus University Rotterdam expand programme to nurture maritime talents

Image (left to right): Reinette Sluijk (Programme Manager Erasmus UPT), Allard Castelein (CEO Port of Rotterdam), Ahmed Aboutaleb (Mayor of Rotterdam), Ed Brinskma (President of the Executive Board at Erasmus University),  Dr Larissa van der Lugt (Director Erasmus UPT), Prof Chu Jian (Chair, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, NTU), Prof Louis Phee (Dean, College of Engineering, NTU), Assoc Prof Wong Yiik Diew (Associate Chair (Academic), School of Civil and Environmental Engineering NTU), Capt. Tan Kim Hock (Programme Director, Maritime Studies NTU), Wanda Preiser (Head, Office of International Engagement, NTU)

The success of a study abroad programme by NTU Singapore and the Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR) in nurturing young talents in the maritime industry has led the two partners to extend it for another two years.

The NTU Singapore-EUR Study Abroad Programme allows a cohort of between 80 and 120 Singaporean Maritime Studies students to participate in a four-month immersion organised by the Erasmus Centre for Urban, Port and Transport Economics each year.

Launched in 2019, the initiative covers an extensive programme involving teaching by maritime academics from the EUR and guest lectures by industry experts from the Rotterdam Maritime Services Community (RMSC). Visits to the Port of Rotterdam, the largest seaport in Europe, are also part of the programme.

The extension of the NTU Singapore-EUR Study Abroad Programme was inked earlier this year, while the exchange of agreements to mark the collaboration was conducted on Tuesday, 2 August - at the sidelines of the World Cities Summit hosted in Singapore during a high-level visit by a Rotterdam delegation to strengthen relations between the major Dutch port city and Singapore.