Seafarers International Research Centre Nippon Foundation Scholarship 2004

SIRC, the Seafarers International Research Centre, is a constituent centre of the Cardiff University School of Social Sciences. At this institution The Nippon Foundation has established a PhD programme under which participants study maritime-related social science. During their studies students are given training in social science research methods and required to write a thesis of up to 80,000 words. The purpose of the programme is to create an international network of social scientists studying the lives of seafarers.

	Jessica Bernfeld
Country of Citizenship	Washington, America
Major Field of Study	Jessica's research interests lie in the potential for international and domestic regulations to create safe working environments for seafarers.
Pre Cardiff Occupation	In June 2004, Jessica graduated from Wellesley College in Boston with an honours degree in Political Science. She became interested in international shipping in summer 2003, when she assisted with a project on Flags of Convenience, funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation. This work led her to complete a year-long honours thesis on the responses of traditional maritime states to globalisation.
Other	Jessica also completed a minor in English at Wellesley College and participated in the school's annual Ruhlman Conference, where students present the results of their work to other students, faculty, and staff. When not studying ships or 20th century literature, Jessica can frequently be found participating in water sports ranging from polo to crew. An ardent sports enthusiast, she served as co-captain of the Wellesley Varsity Swim and Dive team and continues to split her baseball loyalty between the Seattle Mariners and Boston Red Sox. She loves the outdoors, travel, photography, and her cats.

	Syamantak Bhattacharya
Country of Citizenship	Calcutta, India
Major Field of Study	Syamantak's research interests are in the effectiveness of the International Safety Management System after six years of it being made compulsory in the shipping industry. He plans to investigate this subject using a comparative study between shipping and other shore-based industries.
Pre Cardiff Occupation	Syamantak studied for and passed a Higher National Diploma with distinction in Nautical Science in 1996. Following this he obtained a Master Mariner unrestricted certificate of competency in 1998 from the South Tyneside College in the UK. In 2001 Syamantak took command of an ocean-going tanker managed by Denholm Ship Management, Glasgow fleet, and sailed as Master for another two years before moving to Singapore. There he was the Quality and Commercial Manager, looking after the everyday operation and the Safety & Quality of a fleet of tankers. He served in this position for nearly one and half years before coming to Cardiff.
Other	At the age of 30, Syamantak was promoted to Master, one of the youngest in contemporary international shipping. Whilst he worked in the office at Singapore, Syamantak had the distinction of being the author of the Safety Management System Manuals, Commercial Operation Manuals and the International Ship and Port Security Manuals for the Company. Outside of his professional career Syamantak loves to drive cars, especially Japanese ones. This passion culminated in a two-month road trip across India. He is an ardent fan of cricket, a western classical music devotee, an animal lover, and has a great interest in philosophy.

	Victor Gekara
Country of Citizenship	Kisii, Kenya
Major Field of Study	Victor's research interests lie in seafarer training in developing countries specifically looking at opportunities and levels of training available.
Pre Cardiff Occupation	After graduating from Maseno University in 1996 Victor taught High School English and Literature in the coastal city of Mombasa. He then studied with the Institute of Chartered Ship Brokers in London between 1997 and 2000 where he undertook port management and ship agency correspondence as part of his professional training. After this he then moved into P&I correspondence in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. He has recently completed an M.Sc. programme in International Transportation at Cardiff Business School.
Other	During his studies with the Institute of Chartered Ship Brokers Victor won the Holmes, Hardingham, Walser, Winter Award for the highest marks in ICS-Shipping Law exam. Outside of his professional career Victor enjoys mountain hiking, and has climbed both Mount Kilimanjaro and Mount Kenya. He also enjoys travelling.

	Mohamed Ghanem
Country of Citizenship	Alexandria, Egypt
Major Field of Study	Mohamed's research interest is in fostering seafarers' awareness against collision and grounding.
Pre Cardiff Occupation	Mohamed has 14 years experience as a seafarer, where he worked as a master onboard national and foreign flag ships. He also taught at the college of Maritime Transport and Technology (AASTMT) for 8 years, and holds a MSc Degree specialised in Maritime Education and Training from the World Maritime University, Malmo, Sweden.
Other	Mohamed has been awarded a High Diploma in Hydrographic Surveying from the College of Maritime Transport and Technology. He also holds certificates for training in Full Mission Ship Handling Simulator Operation and Training (Ship Analytics International), in addition to other certificates for instructors 'Train the Trainer' from Germany (ISSUS - Hamburg) and the Netherlands (Maritime Institute).

	Lijun Tang
Country of Citizenship	Shandong, China
Major Field of Study	Lijun's research interests are the impact of the internet on seafarers and their families.
Pre Cardiff Occupation	Lijun graduated from Shanghai Maritime University in 1996, and worked for the China Ocean Shipping Company (COSCO), Qingdao Branch as an O.S. and then 3rd officer. In 2003-2004, he studied for a MSc in International Maritime Studies, Ship and Shipping Management at Southampton Institute.
Other	After one year's study, Lijun has been awarded a Master with Merit by Southampton Institute. Growing up in a rural area in East China, he loves views of countryside. Rivers, ponds, farms and other natural scenes always fascinate him. His favourite activity is cycling in the quiet, green and refreshing countryside.