An additional international stamp of approval has been secured by the Caribbean Maritime Institute (CMI) as it charges towards university status. The institute was awarded the prestigious Geneva 2015 Century International Quality ERA Award in the Gold Category for Leadership by the Business Initiative Directions (BID) Awards. The official presentation was made at a black-tie, red-carpet event held on March 22, 2015 in Geneva, Switzerland, which received wide publicity throughout Europe, Asia and the Americas.
The award was received on behalf of the Institute by Executive Director Dr Fritz Pinnock; Chairman Joan Spencer-Ernandez; and board member Deneice Aiken. The award is significant, not just for CMI but for Jamaica and the rest of the Caribbean, as this is the first time that a Caribbean country and an educational institution (in general) has won the award.
As an ISO-accredited institution, with a robust internal quality assurance system, the CMI takes quality seriously as the foundation of leadership, customer service and innovation in maritime education. This award concretised that fact. In response to the award announcement, quality manager of the Institute, Dr Violet Wright, stated: "Quality is never an accident. It is always the result of high intention, intelligent direction and skilful execution. It represents the wise choice of many alternatives ... onward and upward CMI!"
The Century International Quality ERA award is part of the annual programme of Business Initiative Directions Awards, designed to recognise the prestige of outstanding companies, organisations, and businessmen. This year, CMI received the award in the presence of delegates from 76 countries, quality experts, academic personalities and representatives from the diplomatic corps.
BID holds an annual congress with different meetings in the emblematic cities of Paris, London, Madrid, Geneva, Frankfurt and New York, having gathered companies and organisations from 116 countries. Over the last 10 months, those participating experts in quality and excellence, submitted their votes for the candidacy of CMI to receive the Century International Quality ERA Award. The Institute was selected based on nominations from previous winners, research and analysis carried out through quality auditors, leaders, and entrepreneurs.
In an interview at the award ceremony, Dr Pinnock thanked the board of directors and Ministry of Transport, Works and Housing, in particular, Dr Omar Davies and Permanent Secretary Audrey Sewell, for their continued support and commitment to the development of CMI. He also dedicated the award to the management and staff of the Institute in recognition of their hard work and resilience. He also noted that the award brings international recognition to CMI and this, he hopes, will attract more international students to CMI and, by extension, to Jamaica.
Recently, the CMI also received international accreditation from the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport - the leading professional body for logistics and transport (with an international pedigree of more than 33,000 members working in more than 100 countries). The CMI is the Caribbean's school for maritime excellence. It recently expanded its campus to the neighbouring community of Port Royal to broaden its reach as it moves towards university status in Jamaica.