PDG: Communication And Navigation

Institute of Maritime Studies

PGD. MC Synopsis

SECTION A: SUMMARY OF THE PROGRAMME

Name of the Programme: Postgraduate Diploma in Maritime Communications & Navigation (Part-Time)

Department of Domicile: Institute of Maritime Studies

Faculty of Domicile: School of Postgraduate Studies

Title of Degree to be awarded Postgraduate Diploma in Maritime Communications & Navigation (PGDMC)

SECTION B: INTRODUCTION

Maritime Industry is fast evolving with the need to prepare suitable manpower for administrative and managerial position in public and private organizations, involved in coastal, marine and maritime activities. The manpower is needful to develop, promote and operate responsibly to the real needs of the maritime industry and provide adequate service, research and development required to sustain the current and future maritime sector and national growth and development. The maritime administration and management will be able:

  • · To provide an expert overview of the complex but inter-related maritime specialized field and opportunities towards achieving a sustainable maritime sector at national and International level.
  • To resolve issues related to maritime management, operation, capital assets, human resources and the maritime world.
  • To engage with practice informed theory across the maritime sector.
  • To demonstrate original application of knowledge to maritime issues and in the choice of appropriate to practice.

SECTION C:PHILOSOPHY

Nigeria is acclaimed as a maritime nation because of its extensive coastline and the abundance of both interest as an industry, as an enterprise and as an area of academic of pursuit. The maritime is a critical to the nation as it accounts for the carriage of over 95% of the exports and imports of the Nigerian trade in oil and non-oil markets. Its role on regional development is enormous, especially within the coastal communities bordering the Gulf of Guinea.

The investment opportunities in the industry are huge, spanning the entire spectrum of activities in the areas cargo operations and stevedoring services, marine services, warehousing, haulage, packing, logistics, shipping services, liner and container shipping, tanker shipping, bulk shipping, reefer trade, passenger cruise service, ship building ship repairers.

With so much investment opportunities, the maritime industry has the potential to unlock the economic development of the country in terms of driving the economy through ancillary industries, wealth creation, job creation and poverty reduction.

However, these potentials are still latent. The maritime sector is yet to attain 25% of its potentials due to a myriad of challenges. Although the industry can be said to rank second, next to oil and gas, in terms of revenue generation to the nation, its core activity, namely shipping sector,contributes only about 0.05% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP);whereas in Greece, for example, where enthusiasm for maritime business and concern is as strong as Nigeria, the contribution of shipping activities is as much as 4.5%,with the Greek maritime sector accounting for the employment of 4% the country ‘s workforce.

Thus, a major challenge of the maritime industry is to grow so as to fully realize its potentials and to drive the national economy commensurate with the aspirations of major stakeholders in the sector.

Growing the maritime sector requires highly skilled personnel and professionals. At present, there is a dearth of maritime professionals in the country. This is demonstrated in the findings of workshop on Manpower Capacity Analysis and Development Plan for the Maritime Industry which evaluated the Training Needs Survey of the Maritime Sector, conducted by Maritime Academy of Nigeria, Oron in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Transport, April, 1996-1999.

In a bid to bridge the gap in Nigeria’s maritime manpower development capacity and in line with NIMAS’s mission statement; “To achieve safe, secure shipping, cleaner oceans and enhance maritime capacity in line with best global practices towards Nigeria’s economic development”, NIMASA established Maritime Institutes in selected universities across Nigeria of which University of Lagos is one. The Institutes will run programmes to equip Nigerians with the required skills to fill the ever rising demean d for personnel in the lucrative maritime industry in Nigeria.

The Institute of Maritime Studies proposes an innovative new postgraduate diploma in Maritime communications & Navigation Studies. The programme, which is supported financially by NIMASA is inter-disciplinary and designed to equip students for exciting career options and /or advancement sin the booming fields of maritime communications, Navigation and shipping.

SECTION D: AIMS / OBJECTIVES

The proposed programme is aimed at professional training to broaden the academic horizon and empower graduates to project their careers indifferent sectors where basic and applied knowledge of maritime communications & navigation issues are needed for shipping and related activities. The programme will also enable graduates with strong technical training in similar scientific profession to acquire knowledge about current trends in maritime communisation & navigation and enhance real time problem solving. Therefore, the specific objectives of the programme are:

To equip qualified professionals with the needed knowledge of communication with ships of any size or nationality;

To equip students with knowledge needed to receive and send urgent maritime safety information;

To equip graduates with the expertise to be able to end or receive distress alerts in an emergency to/from rescue coordination centres ashore and nearby ships anywhere in the world;

To provide a sufficient number of qualified professionals with additional skills to receive GNSS signals and radio signals from broadcast stations for purposes of safe navigation of vessels;

To meet the growing nationals need for marine and maritime studies professionals.

SECTION E: RATIONAL/ JUSTIFICATION

The University of Lagos has longstanding track records of excellence in teaching and research. Although the programme is domiciled in the Institute of Maritime Studies, it will be an inter-disciplinary course involving departments in the Sciences and Engineering within the University and students will be rigorously trained by highly rated faculty members, a feature which has been the bedrock of programmes offered by the Postgraduate School. This has enhanced the reputation of our programmes and created a platform for aspiring students to choose from our programmes to acquire needed skills and knowledge.

The proposed programme is designed to meet the mission of the University of Lagos, and the recently established Institute of Maritime Studies, University of Lagos.

SECTION F: MINIMUM ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS

(i) The programme is open to candidates who possess a Bachelor’s degree in Physical Sciences, marine Sciences, Engineering, Geography, Surveying, Earth Sciences and other related disciplines of the University of Lagos or any of the recognized Universities.

(ii) Also, Candidates with Higher National Diploma (HND) in a relevant field with a minimum of lower credit and three (3) years of relevant work experience.

(iii) Candidates must satisfy all requirements as stipulated by the School of Postgraduate Studies of the University of Lagos. Moreover, candidates may be required to undergo a selection process.

SECTION G: PROGRAMME STUCTURE

The candidate shall be required to take and pass all the following compulsory courses during the course of the programme.

Compulsory Courses

S/N

Course Code

Course Title

Units

1

IMC 701

Mathematical Methods

3

2

IMC 702

Radio Wave Propagation

2

3

IME 703

Application of Statistics & ICT in Marine Environment

2

4

IMC 703

Digital Communications l

3

5

IMC 705

Global Navigation SatelliteSystem

2

6

IMC 706

Classical Electrodynamics

2

7

IMC 709

Electronic Navigation System

3

8

IMC 719

Research Project

4

Total

21

Elective Courses

S/N

Course Code

Course Title

Units

1

IMC 704

Digital Communications ll

2

2

IME 706

Maritime Safety & Security Management

2

3

IMC 707

Satellite Communications

2

4

IMC 708

International Maritime Satellites ( Inmarsat)

2

5

IMC 711

Navigation & Marine Meteorology

2

6

IMC 712

Contemporary Issues in the Maritime Industry

2

Total

12

Semester 1 Courses

S/N

Course Code

Course Title

Status

Units

1

IMC 703

Digital Communications l

C

3

2

IME 703

Application of Statistics & ICT in Marine Environment

C

2

3

IMC 705

Global Navigation Satellite System

C

2

4

IMC 719

Research Project

C

4

Total

11

Semester 2 Courses

S/N

Course Code

Course Title

Status

Units

1

IMC 702

Radio Wave Propagation

C

2

2

IMC 704

Digital Communications ll

E

2

3

IMC 706

Classical Electrodynamics

C

2

4

IMC 709

Electronic Navigation System

C

3

5

IMC 708

International Maritime Satellites ( Inmarsat)

E

2

Total

11

Semester 3 Courses

S/N

Course Code

Course Title

Status

Units

1

IMC 701

Mathematical Methods

C

3

2

IMC 707

Satellite Communications

E

2

3

IMC 711

Navigation & Marine Meteorology

E

2

4

IME 706

Maritime Safety & Security Management

E

3

5

IMC 712

Contemporary Issues in the Maritime Industry

E

2

Total

11

SECTION H: DURATION OF PROGRAMME

The programme duration shall be 18 months (or 3 semesters). The studentship and candidacy of the student may lapse if after four consecutive semesters such candidate has not presented himself/herself for project defence.

SECTION I: COURSE DESCRIPTION

IMC 701 Mathematical Methods 3 Units

Ordinary differential equations; Special functions: Bessel and Legendre equations; Gamma and Beta functions; Sturm-Licuville theory; Numerical integration and differentiation; Lease squares technique; finite difference technique; Fourier and Laplace transforms; complex variables; Tensor analysis and applications.

IMC 702 Radio Wave Propagation 2 Units

Different modes of radio wave propagation; Maritime navigation systems and their frequencies; Radio wave radiation; Frequency; wavelength and Velocity; Radio frequency bands; Maxwell equations; Signal fading; Basic geometrical optics and approximations; Antenna theory.

IMC 703 Digital Communication l 3 Units

Channels and media; Power and energy; Concept of time domain; Bandwidth; Band-pass signals; Samplings; Orthogonality and orthonormality of signals; Multivaritate distributions; Random processes; correlations and matched-filter; Optimal detections.

IME 703 Application of Statistics & ICT in Marine Environment 2 Units

Course provides topics in information systems and information technology form marine management angle. Topics include information system’s role in decision making. Approach to data management, application to more common technologies, security and electric data interchange.

IMC 704 Digital Communication ll 2 Units

Signals space and modulation; Pulse amplitude modulation (PAM) and error probability ; Nyquist filtering ; Quadrature amplitude modulations (QAM) error probability; FSK; Frequency multiplexing; Link budgets; interpolations; Source coding; Chanel coding; OFDM; Spread spectrum.

IMC 705 Global Navigation Satellite Systems 2 Units

Different constellations; Basic satellite theory; Global Positioning System (GPS); Position fixing; Dilution of precision (DOP); Error budgets; Differential GPS (DGPS); Receiver architecture and antenna systems; Global orbiting navigation satellite system ( GLONASS); Galileo, Space Based Augmentation System (SBAS); Marine applications-Emerging developments in offshore PPP; Precise navigation in constricted waterways; RTK an long-range RTK advancements.

IMC 706 Classical Electrodynamics 2 Units

Dielectrics; Electrostatic- boundary value problems, transmission lines; wave guides and resonance cavities; Magneto-statics; multi-poles expansions and fields; Radiating systems; Time varying fields; Maxwell’s equations and electromagnetic potentials; conservation laws; Plane waves; magneto-hydrodynamics.

IME 706 Maritime Safety & Security Management 2 Units

Creating robust safety culture by determining threats, vulnerabilities and consequence to personnel assets, operation and critical infrastructure; Development and application of risk assessment and management techniques to maritime safety and security.

IMC 707 Satellite Communications 2 Units

Evolution of Satellite Technology and Applications; Satellite Links; Multiple Access Methods; Frequency Bands; Space Segment and Satellite Implementation; Broadcast and Multicast Links to Multicast Users; Television Applications and Standards; Digital Video Compression Systems and Standard; Satellite Digital audio Radio Service; VSAT Networks for Interactive Applications; Fixed Telephony Satellite Networks; Mobile Satellite Service; Frequency management and regulations.

IMC 708 International Maritime Satellites (Inmarsat) 2 Units

History; Space segment; Ground segment; Mobile earth stations ( MES); Applications in the maritime industry; Land and aeronautical applications; Operational satellites; Operational frequencies; Inmarsat Systems: inmarsat-A, inmarsta-B, inmarsat-C, inmarsat-E, inmarsat-M, Inmarsat-mini M; Multichannel operations; Applications in shore-to-ship directions; Safety and emergency applications; global area network.

IMC 709 Electronic Navigation Systems 3 Units

Depth sounding; Speed measurements techniques: water pressure, electromagnetic induction, acoustics; Loran-C; Integrated bridge systems: bridge equipment tests, nautical safety, Ship manoeuvring information; Electronic charts: electronic chart system (ECS), Automatic identification system (AIS); Gyro compass; Radio direction finding (RDF); Global maritime distress and safety system (GMDSS); Voice, facsimile and high speed data transmissions; International maritime organization (IMO) and International telecommunication union’s (ITU) operational procedures, standards and practices.

IME 711 Navigation & Marine Meteorology 2 Units

Course impacts basic knowledge that guides when undertaking voyage at sea. Basic knowledge of the characteristics of various weather systems, reposting procedures and recording systems. Use of meteorological instruments on board ships, interpretation of weather information, synoptic charts, knowledge of tropical revolving storms (cyclona), ocean current system ( Indian ocean) and tidal conditions in relation to navigation.

IME 712 Contemporary issues in the Maritime Industry 2 Units

Course aims to create opportunity for exchange of ideas with each other and other maritime experts through presentations, discussions and case studies. Subject covers contemporary issues in the various aspects of the maritime industry: Transport, Information Technology, Logistics, Safety, Security, Environment, Technology, Commerce and Policy. Issues such as importance of maritime policy on development of national merchant marine; current issues and key concerns in maritime industry, challenges of maritime safety, security, environmental protection and labour issues; carriage of dangerous goods; satellite and other forms of communication and data transfer systems and their application to the maritime community, use of information technology for maritime education and industry needs.

IMC 719 Research Project 4 Units

Student will carry out a supervised research project in any are of interest in marine communications.

SECTION J: GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS

Candidates are expected to register for and pass minimum of 24 units including all the compulsory courses (The programme includes;18 units of Compulsory Courses and 12units of Electives) and satisfy all other requirements stipulated in the regulations of the School of Post graduate Studies. A candidate is expected to obtain a minimum grade point average (CGPA) of 2.40.Furthermore,a candidate who fails any compulsory course may be allowed to repeat that course within the period allowed fort the programme provided that the candidate has not failed courses totalling more than 6 units. Candidate who obtains a CGPA of 4.50 will graduate with ‘Distinction’ while a candidate who obtains a CGPA of 2.40 or higher but less than 4.50 will graduate with a pass. Candidate who obtains a CGPA of 2.40 and above but has more than 9 units outstanding will be ASKED TO REPEAT (Fail Repeat). Candidate who obtains a CGPA that is below 1.50 will be asked to withdraw (Fail withdraw).

A compulsory course is one that must be registered for and passed by a candidate to obtain in the degree while an elective course is one which may be taken to make up the minimum requirements of units or to increase the choice of course up to the maximum number of units allowed by the programme. The Post graduate Diploma in Maritime Environmental Studies would be awarded by the Senate of the University of Lagos to successful candidates.