The International Association of Maritime Universities (IAMU), has just reached a major milestone and celebrated its 20th Annual General Assembly in Tokyo, Japan in October 2019.

During the past two decades, IAMU has grown from its original 7 members to now encompass 66 members worldwide and has become the voice of leading Maritime Universities throughout the world. The IAMU members are now leading the development of the maritime sector in all oceans by ensuring that a high level of education, training and research is provided to their graduates to benefit the maritime sector globally. IAMU organizational development will allow the maritime sector to take a leadership role in the “Blue Economy.”

At this point in our history, it is worth remembering that none of this would have been possible without the vision and steadfast support of our benefactor, The Nippon Foundation and its Chair, Dr. Yohei Sasakawa. Dr. Sasakawa’s vision for a truly global organization to ensure high levels of education and training in the maritime sector, which in turn, will facilitate the rapid growth and globalization in international shipping. The Global Maritime Professional initiative which resulted in the “Body of Knowledge 2019” document is a major step forward in achieving this high level of standardization in the maritime sector globally.

The success of IAMU in recent years has been due to strong leadership by past Chair, Rear Admiral, Thomas Cropper and IAMU Executive Director, Dr. Takeshi Nakazawa, and a strong commitment from all members of the International Executive Board. This commitment by its membership plus a strong secretariat has allowed IAMU to celebrate its first 20 years and to develop strong plans for the future.

IAMU has steadily grown in membership over the years but in recent years it has made major advances in enhancing our student engagement, connecting our faculties in organizational development and research projects and increasing our collective voice to key organizations like the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and industry associations.

I believe the role of IAMU and the maritime sector it serves will become even more critical in the coming decade as global issues like climate change and technological advances will allow IAMU and its members to work on major problems and find solutions to issues affecting the planet.

In closing, I look forward to working with all of you to ensure that the potential of IAMU is fully realized for our students, our faculty and our organization.

Sincerely,

Glenn Blackwood

Chair of IAMU