Op-ed: Capacity-building program journey in Nanjing

The following is an op-ed written by Abdulla Naeem, Meteorological Technician, Maldives Meteorological Services.

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This is an article based on Training Course on Working Capacity Enhancement with Meteorological Sounding Bouy, organized by the Chinese government in 2023. The course was held at the Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology (NUIST) from September 13, 2023 to November 15, 2023. I had a great experience and learned a lot of things in those 2 months. Therefore, I would like to share some of my thoughts in this paper.

It was the best training program I had in my life. Thanks to NUIST, I experienced a great deal of happiness and serenity throughout my two months in Nanjing. Everything exceeded my expectations because it was so well-organized. They provided a student card for the internal bus, food and other needs we required at that time.

The training sessions were taken by qualified professors and we gained lot of information and knowledge from those sessions. After the session, we discussed and cleared doubts. Some professors gave us class work and homework to enrich the training. We had visited laboratories to do experiments and see what was happening. It was an ocean basics training program, so they taught us a lot about that. We carried out some experiments that show how waves and internal waves form on different surfaces as similar to sea surface.

Every weekend days we had a culture class organized by NUIST. We learned the Chinese language and culture during those sessions. Additionally, we exchanged the culture of both countries during the sessions. They took us shopping and touring during some free days. We visited famous places in Nanjing, like Confucius Temple, Zi Jin Mountain, Nanjing Eye etc. During the training program, we visited other cities, such as Lianyungang, Hefei, Wuxi, Guangzhou and Shanghai. For these, they provided comfortable high-speed train and aeroplanes. During these trips we visited space centers, meteorological centers, ocean buoy centers and a few agricultural laboratories.

In addition to this, they took us to famous places in these cities and that really excited me and I enjoyed it a lot. The NUIST team took great care and guided us everywhere. I would like to deeply thank the Chinese government and the embassy for providing such a wonderful trip. I hope that there will be a second or another part of this training program (Training Course on Working Capacity Enhancement with Meteorological Sounding Bouy) in the near future and I will be able to participate in it.

Before I went there, I assumed China would be completely covered in buildings. However, everything was very different when I visited, which made me really surprised. Nanjing was a charming, orderly, and ecologically conscious city. Trees everywhere, no trash, even on the roadways. The people of China were well mannered and highly educated. They serve as an inspiration to others.

Once I arrived in China, I found their food to be very different. I remember thinking, “Can I survive these two months?” The first week was a bit of a struggle, but after that, I got used to their diet. I really enjoy Chinese soups, beef ramen noodles, hot pot, and dumplings. However, I missed their food a lot after I came back and realized that they have great cuisine.

This training program has brought about significant changes in my field of work. Prior to the training, I had believed that ocean waves and currents were similar to atmospheric movements. However, I learned that there are considerable differences in the circulation patterns of the ocean compared to the atmosphere. I gained knowledge about Ekman transports, internal waves, and various aspects of ocean dynamics. As a diver, I acquired important information that I was previously unaware of, such as the presence of strong internal ocean currents near the edges of islands and the potential dangers of sudden deeper regions next to shallow reefs.

This training program teaches us how to deal with ocean incidents. By considering wave current, movement and wind, we can easily determine the area where lost people may be located. I am thrilled with this opportunity as it has had a lot of positive impact on my life.

After completing this training, I collaborated with various professors in the Maldives to conduct research. I am pleased that the skills I acquired during this training proved beneficial for the research. I look forward to the opportunity to engage in meaningful research with a Chinese professor in the future.

Although I have traveled to a few different nations, China is the most advanced, innovative, sustainable, and environmentally friendly nation. China is taking a leading role in solving the global climate crisis and is largely following the guidelines. I sincerely appreciate all of their hard work.