Thirty young people from five West African nations have become the latest to graduate from a China-Africa joint undergraduate program, receiving bachelor's degrees in logistics management from China's Ministry of Education and diplomas from Shanghai Maritime University.

They are the third group of students to graduate from the program, which was inaugurated in 2010 by Shanghai Maritime University and Regional Maritime University, a transnational college set up by Ghana, Cameron, Gambia, Liberia and Sierra Leone. The college is in Accra, capital of Ghana.

Men Yanping, deputy Party secretary of Shanghai Maritime University, said at a ceremony on June 11 that she hopes the graduates will be dedicated to shipping and logistics industries, and will contribute to the development of their countries and Africa.

Elvis Nyarko, chancellor of Regional Maritime University, said the graduates have all found jobs and thanked the professors in Shanghai for their efforts.

Students spend three years in Accra and a year in Shanghai. Most classes - especially core subjects such as organization and management of multimodal transportation, international shipping and logistics, and international trade - are taught by professors from Shanghai.

The students are given opportunities to intern at international logistics and shipping businesses while in Shanghai as well as visit the city's China Maritime Museum, Yangshan Deep-water Port and harbor logistics garden.

Desmond Boye-Amasah, who graduated in 2014, says the internship helped him reconcile the theory of ports and shipping management with the practical.

"It was an experience that equipped me with adequate skills and measures linked not only to the shipping industry, but also future developments in logistics," he says.

Yi Ming, a professor of international trade at Shanghai Maritime University, who began teaching on the program in 2011, says compared with their counterparts in Shanghai, the African students are more diligent despite the hot weather and poor facilities in Accra. He says the program is gaining in popularity.

"In the first five years, about 30 students were enrolled each year, but the figure has risen to about 60," he says. "Graduates are very popular among international companies and nearly 10 students choose to go to Shanghai Maritime University for further studies every year. At least two graduates have gone on to become senators (in their native countries)."

Trade between Africa and other regions is growing substantially, but the logistics sector on the continent is still immature, with one bottleneck being the shortage of professional talent, according to Shanghai Maritime University.

"The university is world class in terms of teaching logistics management," Zhang Feng, a spokesman for the college, says. "It is our endeavor to cultivate a high-end professional team for the central and western Africa regions."

The Shanghai college attaches great importance to the program, he says, adding that since 2010 the college has sent six professors per year on training programs overseas for at least six months to improve their skills in English and international communication as well as their professional knowledge.

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(China Daily Africa Weekly 06/24/2016 page3)