Kochi welcomes floating university MV World Odyssey, home to students from 270 institutions

Kochi: The MV World Odyssey, a one-of-a-kind floating university, has made its way to Kochi, bringing together students from around the globe for a unique learning experience at sea.

The luxury cruise is part of the “Semester at Sea” programme, in which students from 270 universities worldwide travel to multiple countries while completing their studies.

Launched by Colorado University in the United States, the program features two annual voyages: one in winter and another in spring. The ship reached Kochi port on November 18, marking the beginning of this year’s cruise tourism season. World Odyssey also became the first ship to dock at Kochi port this year's cruise season.

The winter voyage began on September 9 from Ijmuiden Port in the Netherlands. Covering Europe, Asia, and Africa, the 105-day journey will take the ship to 12 cities across 11 countries. Prior to arriving in Kochi, the ship visited Portugal, Spain, Morocco, Ghana, South Africa, and Mauritius.

Students who disembarked in Kochi explored different parts of India in groups before returning to the ship, which then resumed its journey to Vietnam on Monday morning. The voyage will later include stops in Hong Kong and conclude in Bangkok, Thailand, on December 22.

Operating under the motto “the world is campus,' the floating university currently hosts over 1,000 passengers comprising both students and faculty members. The vessel is equipped with classrooms, libraries, hostel rooms, and luxurious amenities, including indoor courts and swimming pools.

Classes are held during the voyage, while field visits and campus tours of prominent institutions take place whenever the ship docks. For the remaining days of the year after the two `Semester at Sea' programmes, the ship functions as a regular cruise vessel under the name MS Duke Land.