On November 19, a delegation led by Prof. Dr. Ismail Abdel Ghafar Ismail Farag, President of the Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport (AASTMT), visited Shanghai Maritime University (SMU). SMU President Chu Beiping and Vice President Yin Ming met with the delegation. Representatives from relevant departments and colleges of SMU, including the International Office, the University President's Office, and the Merchant Marine College, participated in the meeting.
President Chu Beiping introduced SMU's development history, recent progress, and disciplinary strengths. He emphasized that SMU is actively responding to the needs of digitalization, intellectualization, and decarbonization in the shipping industry, and is fully promoting research and development in green shipping technologies, empowering maritime education with artificial intelligence, and enhancing international cooperation and talent cultivation. He stated that SMU and AASTMT have a long-standing and sound cooperative relationship, and expressed hope for comprehensive collaboration in areas such as faculty and student exchanges, joint talent cultivation, and scientific research innovation, to jointly contribute to global green shipping and sustainable development.
Prof. Dr. Ismail Abdel Ghafar Ismail Farag reviewed the positive outcomes of the cooperation between the two institutions and expressed his desire to further deepen collaboration in areas including faculty exchanges, practical training on training ships, smart ports, and green shipping.
During the meeting, the two universities renewed a Memorandum of Understanding to further expand their cooperation in the fields of navigation technology, talent cultivation, and academic exchange. Following the meeting, the delegation visited SMU Maritime Simulator and other facilities.
The Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport, founded in 1972, is headquartered in Alexandria, Egypt, with branches in Cairo, Aswan, and Jordan, among other locations. It currently has 23,000 undergraduate and postgraduate students and is a comprehensive higher education institution under the League of Arab States, integrating education, training, consultancy, and scientific research.
