Entry #3My second home: ARSTM

Hello 👋👋👋,

I hope you're doing well 😊.

Today, I'd like to introduce you to my home 🏡, my second home 🏫🏠.

I had the privilege of joining the Académie Régionale des Sciences et Techniques de la Mer (ARSTM) in 2020😌, an institution of excellence 🎓 in maritime and industrial training🚢🌊.

Founded by Côte d'Ivoire with the support of its partners in 1987, ARSTM covers an impressive thirty-three hectares.

It stands out for its regional reach, serving fifteen French-speaking countries in West and Central Africa. As a specialised body of the Maritime Organization of West and Central Africa (OMAOC), its influence extends over twenty-five States, from Mauritania to Angola. This international dimension 🌍 gives it diplomatic status, strengthening its strategic role in the region.

It is made up of four distinct entities, each contributing in its own way to the training of cadets.

Namely:

1️⃣

The École Supérieure des Transports Maritimes (ESTM), where I am currently doing my Master's, trains middle and senior managers for the maritime sector. It prepares students for a range of careers, from general logistics to the specifics of maritime transport, shaping the professionals who keep ports and international trade running 🌐💼.

ESTM offers a range of programmes tailored to the needs of the sector, including the Licence (Bachelor's) in Maritime Transport and Logistics, with options in Port Handling, Freight Forwarding, Shipping Agency and Ship Operation, and Multimodal Transport. It also offers Master's programmes in Port Management and in Transport Logistics. These programmes open up many career prospects, allowing graduates to join the various companies that support maritime transport. The skills acquired are essential to keeping port activities and international trade running smoothly.

2️⃣

The École Supérieure de Navigation (ESN) 🧭 trains future merchant navy officers and industrial maintenance technicians. It offers Bachelor's and Master's programmes in Nautical Science and Marine Engineering, as well as courses in Thermal Engineering and Telecommunications.

3️⃣

The Centre d'Enseignement et d'Apprentissage Maritime (CEAM) 📚 trains junior officers and crews. Its programmes, open to students after the BEPC or the penultimate year of secondary school, cover various aspects of navigation and fishing. It ensures the training of a skilled workforce, essential to the smooth running of the maritime industry.

4️⃣

The Institut de Sécurité Maritime Interrégional (ISMI) 🛡️, as its name suggests, focuses on ‘’maritime safety and security‘’. Its mission of training civilian and military officers to ensure safety and protect the marine environment in the Gulf of Guinea is vitally important for the development of maritime transport in our sub-region.

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Alongside these schools, the Centre de Recherche Maritime Portuaire et Logistique (CREMPOL) 🔬 drives innovation and research in our field. I've had the chance to attend some of their conferences, and I'm impressed by their multidisciplinary approach to today's maritime challenges.

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Something innovative here is the recently launched distance learning programme (FOAD). This initiative gives more flexibility to students and professionals who want to train or upskill in the maritime field while continuing their work.

My home thus offers a complete learning environment, preparing students for the challenges of the maritime sector. Military training (FM) 💪, which I talked about in my previous post, is an integral part of the curriculum, forging discipline and rigour in the future professionals of the sector.

Every day, I realise how lucky I am to grow in such a stimulating environment. The courses, the expertise of the teaching staff and the facilities all help to train competent professionals, ready to take on the challenges of the Ivorian, African and global maritime sector.

Of course, as in any institution, there are always challenges to meet and improvements to make 🛠️. The facilities, while functional, are showing signs of age. Living and study conditions can sometimes be spartan, especially in the dormitories 🛏️ and classrooms. The seniors say these conditions are an integral part of the training, building our resilience… 😅.

It's encouraging to see that efforts are under way to improve things 📈. Worth noting: the installation of wifi on campus in 2023 was a significant step forward, even if coverage still needs work 📶. These challenges aren't unique to our institution; every school has its own hurdles to overcome.

My academy is far more than just a training institution. It embodies the ambition of West and Central Africa to build high-level maritime expertise, able to meet the economic and strategic challenges of our time 🌍🚢.

I invite you to share your thoughts and questions... As I always say,

exchange is the key 🗝️.

Thks for reading 😊. See you soon 🔜 👋🤞👋

#MrDNEJ