The IAMU Organizational Development Project MARISYNC (Maritime Industry–Academia Synergy for Digital and Green Transition) has officially commenced, bringing together four IAMU member institutions from Europe, North America, Asia, and Australia to strengthen collaboration between maritime universities and industry stakeholders.

Coordinated by prof. Minna Keinänen-Toivola from Satakunta University of Applied Sciences (SAMK), Finland, the project consortium includes Massachusetts Maritime Academy (MassMA), USA, the School of Maritime Studies, Centurion University of Technology and Management (SoMS-CUTM), India, and Australian Maritime College (AMC), Australia. The project runs from May 2026 to March 2027 and supports IAMU’s strategic objective of demonstrating and strengthening its impact on the maritime industry.

The maritime sector is undergoing significant transformation driven by digitalization, decarbonization, and sustainability requirements. MARISYNC aims to develop practical, transferable mechanisms to support long-term university–industry cooperation across the IAMU network. The project will produce an IAMU-wide collaboration framework, a joint competence and skills map, an Industry Collaboration Hub prototype, and a statistical dataset illustrating IAMU’s impact on the maritime industry.

The first phase of the project, taking place between May and July 2026, focuses on benchmarking existing academia–industry collaboration models across different maritime regions. Each consortium partner serves as a regional focal point: Europe, SAMK (Finland); North America, MassMA (USA); Asia, SoMS-CUTM (India); and Australia/Oceania, AMC (Australia).

Using a jointly developed benchmarking template, partners are collecting information on successful collaboration practices between maritime universities and industry. The benchmarking covers a broad range of maritime sectors, including shipping, ports, logistics, shipbuilding, maritime services, and the broader maritime ecosystem.

MARISYNC represents a collaborative effort to strengthen the connection between maritime education and industry needs while supporting the global maritime sector’s digital and green transition.

Further information: https://www.merilogistiikka.fi/en/about-us/projects/marisync/