Basic Factors for Expanding AASTMT Educational Scope to Global Horizons

The AASTMT is now providing many educational tracks in terms of high quality and diversity of service in order to harmonize with the dynamic development. Moreover, the AASTMT keeps abreast with international developments through alliances (agreements) with major universities in their respective fields. The educational process is run through the flexibility acquired by the open-thinking system over modern and traditional education. Not only that, but also the AASTMT embraces the continuous development policy of educational systems and moves steadily towards the application of open-thinking education. The philosophy is to provide curricula suitable for any circumstances (whoever, whenever and wherever).Thus, offering new or better job opportunities. In addition to the application of distance learning as a means of implementing the educational process, whatever it is. It is possible that distance learning becomes a means of the traditional educational process or a means of open learning because distance learning is a method of delivering the educational curricula to the students either through the Internet, television, videos, CDs or standardized files curricula.

First: Quality

The AASTMT gives the priority to the achievement of an outstanding quality of educational services in its different tracks by getting close to the world’s constant assessment criteria. It also works to raise the level of performance in the educational process and implementing the international TQM in the education and training fields through its main colleges:

1. College of Maritime Transport and Technology
2. College of Engineering and Technology
3. College of Management and Technology
4. College of International Transport and Logistics
5. College of Computing and Information Technology.
6. Graduate School of Business

The AASTMT is regarded as the first educational institution to receive a certificate of quality in education (ISO 9001) for the bachelor degrees in: maritime transport technology, engineering and management. The certificate was granted from one of the leading donor agencies (The DNV) which has previously evaluated and granted the U.S. space agency (NASA) the certificate of quality.

The first milestone in (degrees-equivalence) has been achieved when the AASTMT obtained the Supreme Council of Egyptian Universities’ consent considering the High-Seas Second Officer certificate eligible for joining Egyptian universities as well as any four-year higher education certificates after secondary school. Then, the AASTMT pioneered in the maritime officers’ transfer from the course of the qualifying certificates to obtain a bachelor's degree in Navigation Technology or Marine Engineering.

As a matter of fact, the report presented by Japan Transport Cooperation Association in March, 1997 about the AASTMT’s achievements and its flexible transformation to science and technology for sake of continuity, then the shift to science and technology and maritime transport, is regarded the highest award from the first ranked country in global maritime transport.

Eventually, the AASTMT managed to make its certificates equivalent to the certification awarded by the Egyptian universities in the fields of maritime transport, engineering and Management.

Second: Diversity

The AASTMT provides many educational tracks in its four main colleges granted equivalence from the Egyptian Universities Supreme Council. In addition to the AASTMT’s membership in the International Universities Federation and the Maritime Universities Federation besides the chairmanship of the Maritime Universities International Federation which was given to the AASTMT’s President in the year 2003-2004. The AASTMT President also leads the working-party in charge of the Maritime Universities International Federation to develop curricula and marine standards for maritime officers and engineers during the third millennium all over the world.

This diversity is represented in: Bachelor's, Master’s and doctorates degrees, given equivalence by the Egyptian Universities Supreme Council and many quality assessment institutions (enclosed is a full document).

It should be noted that the Graduate School of Business holds a Master's Degree in Business equivalency from the Egyptian Universities Supreme Council, as well as the U.S. and EU recognition of the MBA degree by the conventions that accept the curricula studied by students at the AASTMT to complete the studies to the MBA and Ph.D. degrees in these universities.

Moreover, the AASTMT is member in the following international scientific societies:

American Assembly of Collegiate of Schools of Business (AACSB)

• USA Council of Graduate Studies
• Canadian Association for Graduate Studies
• The Association of MBA
• The Society for The Advanced of Management (SAM)

As for The doctorate degrees, the AASTMT concludes agreements with major local universities such as Cairo University, Alexandria University and Ain Shams University as well as international universities in the United States, Canada and Europe under joint supervision with concerned departments, institutes and colleges.

Third: Educational Alliances

The AASTMT relations have been characterized by distinction and expansion not only on the regional level but also on the international one with many of the specialized organizations and universities with long history in the fields of science, technology and maritime transport. Accordingly, the AASTMT is keen on extending the prospects of cooperation in the field of postgraduate studies with prestigious universities in various fields. In Addition to signing several agreements in this regard on the basis that the Master's degree is the only postgraduate degree offered by the AASTMT. In this regard, the AASTMT worked out a database containing reports about every degree (Status Report) and a periodic follow-up to all conventions concluded with the concerned universities and institutions as follows:

The United States of America:

• Central Michigan University, USA
• Widener University, Chester ,USA
• Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University ,USA
• The George Washington University , USA

Canada:

• The Carleton University (Ottawa, Canada)

Europe:

• L’Ecole Superieure Libre des Sciences Commervials Appliquees ESLACA, France
• London School of Economics, UK
• Brunel University, UK
• University of Mannheim, Germany

Fourth: Open Thinking

Since the 1980s, the AASTMT has been keen on opening prospects for cooperation and communication channels with the leading universities and institutes in UK, Germany, France, Spain, Poland, USA and Canada.

The AASTMT featured a high quality of connections and proliferation of this success is invested in creating cooperation prospects with several international organizations (US AID, ACTIM, DANIDA, UNESCO, IMO, UNDP and UNCTAD) that have contributed to supplying the AASTMT with equipment, experts and academic visits.

In the framework of the Open-thinking of its strategy, the AASTMT has embraced an education style whose slogan is “learn internationally and study locally”.

This gives Arab students the opportunity to continue their study while remaining in their countries to get their degrees from the foreign countries leading in higher education in Europe, the United States and Canada through the AASTMT’s International Central Office in London which is linking the AASTMT educational activities to the leading foreign universities. The AASTMT has provided the best Arab and foreign expertise in its International Centre in London.