World Maritime University Graduates Class of '23
On 28 October, the maritime leaders of tomorrow - World Maritime University (WMU) class of 2023 - graduated. The WMU 2023 graduating class includes 283 graduates from 71 countries, including a record of 99 women graduates.
WMU President, Professor Maximo Q. Mejia, Jr., delivered welcome remarks. As a WMU graduate himself, President Mejia reflected on the power of the WMU experience and how it affects the way one thinks, works, plans, and interacts. “You have acquired information that you did not possess before you enrolled here," he said. "Perhaps more importantly for your future in the international maritime world, you have acquired a real and strong network on which you can rely for decades to come.”
In his graduation address, HE Mr Kitack Lim, the first WMU graduate to serve as International Maritime Organization (IMO) Secretary-General and WMU Chancellor, said, “Collectively, WMU graduates form a formidable international network, a force for good in the world. Your influence as global citizens, educated in a unique environment, will extend far beyond what you can envision today.”
Professor Myron Nordquist was awarded Doctor of Science honoris causa. Dr Nordquist is a renowned international law scholar in maritime law, the law of the sea and ocean policy. His greatest achievements are associated with strengthening the rule of law as it applies to international
navigation rights and freedoms, as well as the role of the International Maritime Organization in maritime and ocean affairs. He shared with the gathering highlights of his career path that spans over 50 years of focusing on the Law of the Sea, and that included establishing the Center for
Oceans Law and Policy at the University of Virginia School of Law which has become one of the world’s premier academic institutions for the study of maritime law, ocean law and policy. Dr Nordquist has been a long standing supporter of the WMU, and he thanked the University for the
esteemed award.
Awards Presented
Honorary Fellow Awards
- Captain Ian Finley, Permanent Representative of the Cook Islands to the International Maritime Organization and a member of the Board of Governors since 2018, who has been actively involved in the work of the Organization.
- Mr Jeffrey Lantz, a former Chair of the IMO Council and the Head of Delegation of the USA to IMO. He has served as a member of the Board of Governors since March 2012.
- Dr Anita Mäkinen, Alternate Permanent Representative of Finland to the IMO and Chief Advisor of the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency, who has offered continuous and significant support to the University over the years, as well as an immense contribution to IMO and its mission.
- Mr Brian Orrell OBE, Chair of the Advisory Board of Seafarers’ Rights International, Trustee of the International Transport Workers’ Federation Seafarers’ Trust, and consultant to the ITF, a stalwart supporter of the University and its mission.
- Mr Torben Skaanild, Chair of WMU’s Executive Board from 2010 to 2019 and previously Secretary-General of BIMCO, who has had a long and distinguished international career in the shipping industry.
Outstanding Alumni Awards
- Ms Judith Enaw of Cameroon who served as the Secretary General of the International Commission of the Congo-Oubangui-Sangha Basin (CICOS) from 2016 to 2023. Judith was the first female President of the WMU Student Council. Always proud to be a WMU alumna, she has demonstrated great professional distinction in the maritime field throughout her career since graduating in 2000.
- Dr Sajid Hussain of Bangladesh who graduated in 1998. He has been an active member of the Board of Governors since October 2013. He was Commandant of the Bangladesh Marine Academy, and is the President of the Friends of WMU Bangladesh.