Shipping – (M.A.)

The MA in Shipping is designed to equip you for managerial positions in shipping organisations. The course is designed for graduates and professionals who seek an in-depth education and knowledge development in the traditional yet developing maritime sector. The main aim of the programme is to equip participants with the necessary skills and competences to take up senior management positions in the shipping industry. The programme of studies combines a thorough understanding of the theoretical concepts of business and shipping business in particular, along with case studies and practical work. The modules offered cover the entire range of the main generic business areas and functions, combining them with the shipping sector’s areas and functions, taking into account the peculiarities of the later.
The teaching staff will guide the learning process with lectures and seminars, together with talks by expert guest speakers and or lecturers with extensive experience on shipping issues.

Main educational aims of the course

The MA in Shipping course is designed for students and professionals, who wish to become familiar with the shipping sector, exploit the organisational and operational functions in shipping, and further examine and analyse the interrelationships and correlations of the shipping functions and areas to those of general management.
It is intended to develop analytical and research skills and focuses on the students’ ability to undertake research, work on their own while producing a major project to a specified deadline.

More specific the educational aims of the course are:

* To provide and/or revisit the foundations in the Shipping industry, and build from there on a deep understanding of shipping business functions and operations;
* To provide a profound knowledge of shipping, and its characteristics, and assess its contribution in a country’s economy, with emphasis in the Greek onel;
* To develop advanced generic business skills required by a shipping practitioner;
* To provide the practical and commercial considerations necessary to handle decision-making processes in the shipping sector from a management perspective;
* To provide the essential knowledge of the diverse subjects which comprise the shipping industry and an understanding of the relationships between them;
* To develop managerial skills in shipping;
* To develop the skills of critical analysis and apply them in shipping business cases and problems;

The program will offer three pathways to students:

* The general MA in Shipping
* The MA in Shipping with Chartering
* The MA in Shipping with Marine Insurance

The rational for the pathway modules is to allow students to further concentrate in a shipping area of particular interest to them. The areas offered through the pathways are: Logistics &Ports, Commodity Trade, Chartering, Marine Insurance and Carriage of Goods by Sea.

Course learning outcomes

After completing the course students will be able to:

* critically evaluate the importance of the main business functions in today’s shipping companies;
* distinguish, analyse and apply the principles and theories of modern Organisational and Business theories in the Shipping sector;
* develop and assess a shipping marketing strategy using marketing tools;
* relate legal, social, economic and political factors to the management of a shipping business.
* make effective use of creative thinking and problems solving techniques to solve shipping business problems;
* critically evaluate the impact of social and ethical factors on shipping decisions and practices, and on the culture of shipping businesses;
* analyse and apply the principles of business logistics to shipping and transport;
* critically evaluate the main theories that describe the main shipping and transportation functions and their application to the wider shipping and transport business environment;
* financially evaluate the given position of a shipping company;
* understand the legal implications of any major shipping company management decisions;
* take strategic decisions concerning the future of a company.
* produce and defend a significant piece of original research;
* work substantially on their own to an imposed deadline;
* select and use the relevant techniques for a specific research problem.