Asian Institute of Maritime Studies

In the early 1990s, many Filipinos took to the sea: there were more than 250,000 Filipino members of the world’s merchant navies – many of whom found better opportunities there than on shore. 

However, there were concerns in the higher-education sector that the country lacked sufficient maritime universities to provide would-be sailors with a suitable maritime education. A sea captain brought together a team to address this problem – and, in 1993, the Asian Institute of Maritime Studies (or AIMs) was born. 

Undergraduate education is provided through four schools: the school of merchant marine; the school of engineering and architecture; the school of heritage education; and the school of maritime business. Degree programmes include customs administration, marine engineering, hospitality management, naval architecture and marine engineering and – incongruously – performing arts, specialising in dance or theatre.

Facilities include a chart-plotting room, a seamanship laboratory, a lighthouse, model hotel rooms and a ship’s bridge simulator. Museo Maritimo, the first maritime-themed museum in the Philippines, showcases how the Filipino maritime industry developed through the centuries. AIMS also publishes five academic journals.  There is also a student publication going by the name of Baywatch. 

AIMS provides student dormitories around its campus, catering to different budgets. Extracurricular activities are often – though not exclusively – nautical-based, including water paddle and swimming. There is also an annual fun run. And cultural and performing-arts organisation Sining Maritimo provides students with opportunities to participate in dance, music, theatre and video production, and to perform at cultural events.