Zhejiang International Maritime College signs agreements with the Ukraine Admiral Makarov National University of Shipbuilding and Papua New Guinea Pacific Maritime College on June 29. [Photo/zimc.cn] 

Zhejiang International Maritime College, located in Zhoushan, Zhejiang province, has successively signed agreements with the Ukraine Admiral Makarov National University of Shipbuilding and Papua New Guinea Pacific Maritime College in a joint school-running initiative.

The move, which leads to the establishment of the Zhejiang-Ukraine International Maritime Academy and the Zhejiang-Papua New Guinea International Maritime Academy, marks the beginning of the city's effort in sharing its high-quality maritime education resources with countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative.

The two new academies will start the exchanges of teachers and the enrollment of foreign students majoring in navigation in the second half of the year, said Wang Weiping, director of foreign affairs office at the Zhejiang college.

The two academies are the result of an international educational cooperation project undertaken by the Zhejiang college in an active response to the Belt and Road Initiative and to the Innovative Action Plan of the Ministry of Education.

Serving as a new platform of Zhoushan to export its maritime education resources, the project has won support from the National Maritime Bureau and the Zhejiang Maritime Bureau, and will help promote exchanges and international nautical education.

This move by the college is a response to the continuous decline in the number of Chinese students majoring in navigation and the number of Chinese young people working in this field.

By nurturing international sailors for countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative that are underdeveloped in nautical education, and recommending them to world-renowned shipping companies, the college will be dedicated to introducing the culture and opportunities of Zhejiang to those countries, and helping its quality educational resources go global.

Zhoushan, with its coastal location, has one of the highest densities of sailors in China and has long been emphasizing the nurturing of sailors over the years. Its Zhejiang International Maritime College is also the largest sailor training school in Zhejiang province.