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Professional Diploma in Data Science for Ports and Shipping Companies

This professional diploma prepares you to apply data science to the challenges of maritime transport and port operations. You will work with AIS and operational data, forecasting models and visualisation, with a focus on the decisions that data can improve.

100% online800 hours8 modulesTaught in EnglishEnrol any time

What is this programme?

This professional diploma prepares you to apply data science to the challenges of maritime transport and port operations. Throughout the programme you work with AIS data, port-call records, fuel consumption reports, met-ocean data and terminal data. You learn to clean, analyse and model this information in order to improve routes and berth planning, estimate arrival times, control consumption and emissions, and build dashboards that support decision-making in ports, terminals and shipping companies.

What makes the programme different: real cases from the sector built on AIS, port calls, fuel consumption and terminal operations; an applied focus on the actual problems of ports, terminals and shipping companies; tools such as Python, SQL and visualisation software; consumption and emissions analysis using recognised indicators; and your own analytics project for a port or a fleet.

Programme highlights

Command of maritime data: work with AIS and operational data from ships and ports.
Optimise berthing, port calls and routes using data.
Apply predictive models to forecast arrivals and demand.
Measure fleet fuel consumption, energy efficiency and emissions.
Career paths in port authorities, terminals and shipping companies.
Training aimed at more efficient and sustainable ports and fleets.

Study plan

01Data in the Maritime and Port Sector100 h

Digitalisation of maritime transport, the actors of the port ecosystem, port communities, the single window, ship, terminal and met-ocean data, and data governance and sharing.

02Data Science Tools100 h

Python, Pandas, SQL, geospatial analysis, visualisation, reproducible notebooks, business intelligence tools and good project practice.

03AIS Data and Traffic Analysis100 h

How AIS works and its message types, trajectory cleaning, detection of port calls and anchorages, traffic density, route analysis, data quality limitations and enrichment with ship registers.

04Port Operations Analytics100 h

Productivity indicators, waiting and port-call times, berth planning, congestion, container terminals, bulk cargo, hinterland connections and benchmarking between ports.

05Predictive Models for Ports and Fleets100 h

Prediction of estimated time of arrival, demand and terminal times, predictive maintenance, time series, machine learning, model evaluation and deployment to production.

06Energy Efficiency and Emissions100 h

Consumption and performance, the effect of weather and cargo, speed optimisation, IMO carbon intensity indicators, emissions monitoring, shore power in port, port inventories and sustainability reporting.

07Dashboards and Decision-Making100 h

Design of key performance indicators, operational and strategic dashboards, geospatial visualisation, alerts, data storytelling, user adoption, and ethics and privacy.

08Case Study: Analytics Project for a Port or a Fleet100 h

Problem definition, data sources, data preparation, exploratory analysis, model development and evaluation, dashboard and presentation to management.

Duration and format

800hours in total

8modules of 100 hours

100%online, at your own pace

Openenrolment all year round

At 10 hours a week you would finish in about 80 weeks; at 20 hours a week, in about 40.

What you will learn

Understand maritime data.
Prepare data.
Analyse operations.
Build predictive models.
Assess efficiency and emissions.
Communicate results.

Career outcomes

Port data analyst.
Maritime data scientist.
Fleet performance analyst.
Business intelligence specialist.
Port digital transformation consultant.
Maritime traffic analyst.

Entry requirements

Profile: a degree in Nautical Science, Engineering, Economics, Logistics, Statistics, Computer Science or a related field, or professional experience in the maritime and port sector.
Language: sufficient command of the language of instruction to follow classes and materials. Basic technical English is recommended.
Technical resources: a computer with a stable connection, an up-to-date browser and a camera for live sessions and project presentations.
Admission process: online application, review of your profile and a short interview with the academic team.

How to enrol

Enrol online

Complete your enrolment on this page, or apply through admissions if you prefer to talk to us first.

Receive your access

We send you the details to enter the virtual campus and start the programme.

Study at your pace

Work through the modules when it suits you and complete the programme from anywhere in the world.

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