MIT appoints industry stalwart as Dean of NZ Maritime School

MIT appoints industry stalwart as Dean of NZ Maritime School

Paul Harper has had a dynamic and varied career in many aspects of maritime, shipping and logistics and it is his diverse knowledge of these industries that has seen him appointed to the role of Executive Dean Maritime at Manukau Institute of Technology (MIT).

Prior to his new appointment, Paul has been in the role of Senior Lecturer and Programme Coordinator Marine Engineering at MIT’s New Zealand Maritime School.

Paul began his career studying as a marine engineer at Manukau Polytechnic, as MIT was known then, before gaining 10 years seagoing experience, attaining the rank of Chief Engineer. He then gained management experience within the shipping industry globally, including technical management roles with SSM Ltd of Glasgow and Jebsens of Norway.

Paul also has considerable industry and commercial experience that will be valuable in his new role, including Chief Executive of Carter Holt Harvey Lodestar, a logistics and shipping management business, and general management roles within Carter Holt Harvey Ltd, as well as Group General Manager of Interisland Line. He also currently holds a number of Directorships, including Port of Napier Ltd and Netlogix Ltd, a 4PL logistics company.

MIT chief Executive Peter Brothers says, “Paul’s commitment to the success of students, as well as his broader commercial and industry experience will be of benefit to both the NZ Maritime School, the Centre for Logistics and to MIT as a whole.”

“Continuing the growth and performance of our Maritime School is important to MIT, and I am delighted that we have been able to appoint an excellent candidate from within the school,” he says.

Paul Harper is very excited about what the New Zealand Maritime School has already achieved and it’s potential for the future.
“The school is already really well respected internationally and I see my leadership as bringing a transitional rather than transformational change,” he says.

“I definitely see an opportunity for MIT to continue grow its international student base particularly from countries such as Asia and India as there is a lot of demand for graduates with maritime, shipping, freight and logistics skills in these regions.”

“The cruise industry is also performing well globally so there are also good job opportunities in this industry for our graduates and this is also an extremely important source of training berths for our students,” he says.

“The school is facing some challenges such as the strong NZ dollar which is affecting the cost of studying in New Zealand and the show down in China that’s affecting the broader shipping industry.”

Paul Harper began his new role on September 30. Outgoing Dean of Maritime, Tim Wilson will continue to contribute to the global maritime industry in an emeritus role.

ENDS

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