News & Views - The TMI-BITS DLC Newsletter

December 2005 Issue 05/2005

TMI, Mumbai shifts to it's new premises

Ever since two years back when we were shifted and temporarily housed on the ground floor of the Tolani College of Commerce, the faculty & staff of TMI, Mumbai, were indeed looking forward to have a permanent space which they could call their own.

This dream became a reality in somewhat of a record time when Tolanis very generously provided a spacious and well furnished office in the basement of the proposed Tolani Institute of Management, adjacent to the Tolani College of Commerce.

On the 5 th of December 2005 at a simple ceremony Capt P S Barve, the Course Co-ordinator invoked the blessings of the Almighty, acknowledging the good wishes & support of our peers, broke a coconut at the entrance, cut the ribbon and in a soft voice declared the new premises open. History will record this event as one more landmark achievement in the house of Tolanis.

Seen in the photographs are the opening ceremony, the key senior faculty members and the staff of the Institute.

Conferring of Honorary Fellowship of the Nautical Institute on Dr. NP Tolani

Who today has not heard of the living legend of the Maritime world? Doubt if there would be any!. Yes we speak of none other than Dr Nandlal Pribhdas Tolani, the grand old man of the Indian Maritime scenario.

Born on 1st February 1924 in the family of 'landlords' at Larkhana, in the Sind province of pre-partition India, he was determined to make a name for himself from young age. In pursuit of knowledge, after his initial schooling in Sind and a Batchelor’s degree from then Bombay University, his family sent him to Cornell University, USA where he obtained a Master's degree in 'Agricultural Economics and Engineering' and later a doctorate in the same subject.

His achievements are far numerous to be elaborated in the restricted space available in this bulletin. Amongst the noteworthy ones are:

• Formation of Tolani Shipping Company in late 1960.

• Formation of Nandlal Tolani trust in 1969.

• Tolani College of Commerce in Andheri (East) in 1989.

• Tolani Maritime Institute in the year 1998.

• Varuna Award on Maritime day in 2002.

The Company of Master Mariners of India and the Nautical Institute UK held a seminar on 7 th and 8 th October 2005. On that occasion Dr Tolani was conferred the Honorary Fellowship of the Institute by Dr Phil Anderson, President of the Nautical Institute, London. This award is conferred on select individuals who have made significant contribution for the development of Maritime Industry. We are indeed proud that Dr NPTolani has achieved this rare recognition.

Seen in the photographs are Dr Anderson conferring the Honorary fellowship and Dr Tolani giving his acceptance speech.

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Impression of an Ex student

- Mehul Bhatt

Six and half years. This is the exactly the period before which I first came to TMI-BITS Pilani office as a fresh cadet, 2 days before joining my first ship. I was clearly excited to board the ship. Back then there was no firm Degree Programme, only a Diploma programme. I was given all the initial instructions before I joined the ship. I was not aware then that this was just a start of one of the most exciting and enriching journeys I will ever take.

Being excited about my new career, I started my journals from day one after settling on board. I must say that all the books were designed exceedingly well and helped have a structured training throughout my cadetship. In some cases, after a long day of work, it was extremely difficult to write the journals. But looking back, I realize that all the efforts were worth it.

As with most of the students of TMI-BITS, Distance Learning was a new concept to me. I was not sure how effective it is going to be studying without an immediate teacher. But, hats off to Capt. Barve and his team, the books and tasks were designed in such a beautiful way that they actually ensured you understood the subject before completing the tasks and assignments. And add to that, the teachers at TMI-BITS acted as wonderful guides throughout the programme.

The open-book tests were again a very new and innovative concept. The first three semesters prepared me very well for the 2 nd Mates Examinations. I also had the benefit of appearing for mock-orals in front of TMI-BITS faculty before the final one.

After my 2 nd Mates exams, I immediately enrolled for my degree programme. I was keen to do it as efficiently as I had completed my Diploma. But that was not to be. I went on board as a 3 rd Officer for the first time and I realized that the things were different. I had more duties and responsibilities and it was getting more difficult for me to take out time for studies. So I started neglecting it and I lagged behind. But one fine day I realized that I am going to complete my degree, come what may. So that day onward, I started spending every free moment of mine completing my journals. Soon I was enjoying it and I realized it is helping me at every step of my job. I must say that the Masters I sailed with were extremely supportive and I gained from their experience a lot. The Semester D-F prepared me for my Mates / Masters courses as well as introduced me to some management subjects.

Personally, I found Semester G and H the most interesting and satisfying. Semester G introduced 4 management subjects which could be chosen from 6 subjects offered. It introduced a new aspect of shipping to me that we do not come in contact with everyday. The assignments were very well chosen so that they made me work hard to complete each one of them. In most cases, I had to get in touch with industry senior for every subject to take their opinion. It was a great learning experience.

Semester H was the ‘Work Experience’ Semester. It is one of the most unique aspects of this course. As seafarers, we always learn from ourselves and other who have been out to sea. Our interaction with the other shipping industry is minimal. The internship in the last semester aims to offset this advantage. For my internship, I spent 3 months working at one of the leading NVOCCs (Non Vessel Owning Common Carrier) in India working on my project. It gave me experience in a totally different industry from what I am used to. The projects were carefully chosen by the company I was working with and TMI-BITS so that it would gauge my depth of knowledge of the NVOCC industry.

In between, I also got a unique opportunity to spend a month at the IMO headquarters in London as a part of my internship. That again was one of my most enriching experiences of my life.

Just last week, I completed the final requirement of my degree programme by having the Project Presentation. It was attended by Capt. Barve and faculty of TMI-BITS; the Directors of the company that I interned with; and some Industry Leaders. I must say that I was extremely scared before the presentation, but thankfully it went off quite well.

I meet a lot of degree students at the TMI-BITS office in Mumbai and I am asked if the course is good and worth it. I just have one answer. I believe anything is as good as you make it out to be. It’s all in hands of the students. For me, I can’t imagine myself not having done it. I has broadened my horizons and helped me set ever higher standards for myself over the years.

I must extend my special thanks to all the faculty of TMI-BITS who have inspired me over the years and helped me complete this programme. But at the same time, I must specially thank Capt. P S Barve and Capt. A V Potnis. They have been my true mentors throughout the programme. I owe a lot to them and it is them to whom I’d like to dedicate this degree to. Thank you.

rules for conducting shipboard structured training programme

The Shipboard Structured Training Programme (SSTP), which is a 24 months programme at sea, as conducted by the Tolani Maritime Institute was a part of the Diploma programme that TMI ran in collaboration with BITS Pilani.

As the entry pre-sea programme is now discontinued and as other avenues of obtaining a degree are available, we have decided to conduct only the SSTP and assist the students in their learning process on board suited to their needs.

On successful completion of the Programme students will be awarded Diploma in Nautical Sciences by Tolani Maritime Institute.

Eligibility for the SSTP shall be as follows:

• Completion of a pre-sea course as approved by the DG Shipping.
• Compliance with the requirements of that course including education level, age, health and eye-sight requirements

In running such a programme TMI shall undertake the responsibility for the following:-

• Instruct the student on the process of learning with the use of the Cadet Record Book (CRB) and the under-pinning course material issued either by the University where the student wants to enrol or by TMI.
• Monitor the cadet’s performance while serving his apprenticeship towards his acquisition of skills and competence.
• Ensuring that the requirements relating to the following as stated in the CRB are complied with proper evidence. This shall be through regular submissions of journals as evidenced by the STO:-
  • Completion of tasks as specified in the CRB indicating the process of doing so and the safety requirements that were taken into account.
  • Submission of the details of work performed daily
  • Submission of tasks performed during Bridge watch keeping, anchor watches and cargo watches
  • Additionally the following records are to be maintained in the CRB which will be inspected and verified by the STO, Master and the Institute:
    • Submission of records relating to Steering and Bridge Watchkeeping as indicated in the CRB
    • Submission of STO's report at the end of every month and at the end of each stage (approximately 8 months).
    • Ship familiarisation
    • Quarterly Reports (which must be submitted every quart

In order that the cadet continues to acquire under-pinning knowledge he shall be required to study the courseware regularly and indicate acquisition of knowledge by appearing for one test at the end of every stage. Reports relating to same shall be submitted to the CTO for their information. In fact under the new programme all reports shall be submitted to the CTO instead of to the BITS as was done previously.

It may be noted that the responsibility for completion of SSTP satisfactorily lies with the STO and the CTO in accordance with the provisions of the CRB. As an approved institute we shall relieve CTOs from the duties of continuously monitoring the performance and submission of the same to the assessment centre. In addition we shall also help the cadet in his learning process if he desires to do so. However the STO shall be required to carry out his on board training duties as mentioned in the Cadet Record Book.

After taking into account the amount of work to be preformed by the Institute it is expected that the fees for this programme shall be as follows:-

Notes :-

• Admission fees of Rs 5,000/- and first instalment of Programme fees of Rs 13,500/-shall be payable at the time of admission. The second instalment of Rs 13,500/- shall be payable at the end of the first year of the sea service.)
• However if a student is enrolled with Institute of Distance Learning of Mumbai University for BS Nautical Technology and is in receipt of the courseware from the University before enrolment to SSTP, he will be required to pay only Rs 24,000/- as programme fees and girl students Rs.14,000/- only.
• Girl students are given a fee concession of Rs 10,000/-.

Mr Mehul M Bhatt, first graduate student of Tolani Maritime Institute

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