The State University of Maritime and Inland Navigation (GUMRF) has launched a summer multidisciplinary university program — «Fundamentals of Maritime Logistics.»

Eighteen students from Ghana, Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique, Morocco, Algeria, and Senegal participated in the GUMRF summer multidisciplinary university RAFU. They are studying engineering specialties at GUMRF partner universities: oil and gas, construction, navigation, ship power plant operation, etc. The participants immersed themselves in maritime logistics and learned about it as an important interdisciplinary field, since no sphere of activity is possible without properly organized logistics processes.

The Admiral S.O. Makarov State University of Maritime and Inland Shipping, as Russia's leading university in training specialists for the logistics and transport industry, has prepared a unique project for African students. The English-language academic component was developed by Alexander Kuznetsov, professor at the Institute of International Transport Management.

Over the course of five days, students completed four lecture modules on the basic concepts of the topic: logistics as a scientific and practical discipline; production and transport logistics; global and regional transport and logistics systems; and the maritime component of global supply chains.

An important part of the training was a visit to Petrolesport OJSC, a stevedoring company of the Big Port of St. Petersburg, part of Global Ports LLC, which is a leader in the Russian port services market. Students from Africa visited the terminal on a guided tour and reinforced their knowledge on the topic of “The functional purpose of dry ports in global logistics chains” through practical experience.

The classes were a big hit with the project participants. According to academic director Alexander Kuznetsov, the students from Leningrad Maritime University are smart and super motivated, and they asked interesting and deep questions about the subject. The students thanked the lecturers with applause.

A special event of the “Fundamentals of Maritime Logistics” project was the “Dialogue of Cultures,” organized with the support of the Department of English Language Navigation and Communication of the Maritime Academy Institute. Third-year IMA cadets told the project participants about St. Petersburg, the cultural and maritime traditions of Russia, and participants from the RAFU LMU gave presentations on the geography, economy, natural resources, and traditions of their countries.

The training sessions were interspersed with a rich cultural program, including an introduction to the history and maritime heritage of St. Petersburg. A boat trip on the Neva River showed the students St. Petersburg as Russia's maritime capital. The project participants visited the historical and educational complex on the history of the academy and the maritime fleet of the State University of Maritime and Inland Shipping, and also got to know the facilities of the university's Maritime Training Center.

At the yacht club, under the guidance of GUMRF captains Alexei Chegurov and Sergei Savelyev, the students got acquainted with the yachts of the university's flotilla. On the icebreaker Krasin, Russia's oldest Arctic vessel, the students learned about the history of the Russian icebreaker fleet.

The week-long intensive course ended with a ceremony to award personalized certificates. Andrei Kochin, Director of the Institute of International Transport Management, congratulated the RAFU LMU participants on successfully completing their training and wished them further success in studying logistics. The African students also took part in a solemn ceremony to be inducted as cadets of the State University of Maritime and Inland Shipping.