It's a brave new world on the bounding main. The World Maritime University (WMU) in Malmo, Sweden, responds to the needs of the ocean going countries of the 21st century by providing highly specialized postgraduate degrees and advanced training in maritime affairs, that lead to the awarding of PhD, MSc, Postgraduate Diploma, or Postgraduate Certificate.

These degrees are in such subjects as Marine Administration, Maritime Management, Maritime Education and Training, Marine Safety and Environmental Administration, Marine Environmental and Ocean Management, Maritime Education and Training. Port Management, Shipping Management, and a wide range of elective courses designed to deepen a student's own specialization.

WMU was established in 1983 by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), a United Nations specialized agency. The WMU's mission is to serve the global maritime community as a center of excellence. It also serves as IMO's leading edge institution for the highest level maritime education and research. WMU publishes books specializing in maritime issues and regularly distributes the WMU Journal of Marine Affairs Journal. Additionally, the highly qualified teaching professionals at WMU carry out contract research and consultancy projects, including short-term Professional Development Courses for maritime practitioners.

WMU provides vital access to its valuable range of expertise to all educational institutions, UN agencies, governments, industry and commerce internationally. Further, WMU graduates form a global network, taking knowledge to wherever it is needed world-wide. Each year, WMU's wide range of international students benefit from the input of around 100 visiting professors, globally renowned experts in their own fields. They bring state of the art professional experience into the classroom, opening an important window to the modern maritime world. These professors offer programs of study that have been carefully designed to be up to date and responsive to the realistic needs of the maritime industry. This provides the students with an expert balance of academic study and practical experience, and gives unique insights into the whole world of maritime activity.

For example, students following the MSc program benefit from first-hand field training all over Europe and Asia, gaining valuable insights into professional practices in the different host countries. WMU receives the co-operation of an enormous range of institutions in these countries, so that the students can experience for themselves the application of the latest theories and technologies in real-life situations.

To date, the Nippon Foundation through its Marine Affairs Department has proudly provided over 300 fellowships to students from 42 developing countries to enable them to study at WMU. This has contributed to raising the international level of maritime expertise in a number of developing countries, and makes it much easier for better communication among the maritime industry's professionals.