In an effort to improve the quality of maritime experts around the world, The Nippon Foundation supports two programs at the World Maritime University. First, we sponsor a scholarship program that enables people from developing countries to obtain a two-year master's degree in maritime affairs, which they can then use to improve the level of maritime expertise in their home countries. Secondly, we have created three endowed chairs, enabling the university to raise the level of its education with a PhD-level course in maritime affairs.

SIRC, the Seafarers International Research Centre, is a constituent center at the Cardiff Universith School of Social Sciences. At this institution, The Nippon Foundation has established a masters program under which participants study maritime-related social science. In the course, students are given training in social science research methodes, required to write a thesis of up to 60,000 words, and funded to attend an international maritime conference related to the human element. One exceptional student each year will be offered the opportunity to continue on to a PhD. The purpose of the course is to create an international network of social scientists studying the lives of seafarers.