GMU Holds First Seminar on Autonomous Shipping
On 30 November 2023, GMU held its first seminar on autonomous shipping, organised by HM Rector Professor Adam Weintrit.
The seminar took place in the Senate Meeting Hall and was attended by representatives of all GMU faculties, the world of business and the University's students. Chairing the seminar, the Rector, welcomed the participants before drawing attention to the importance of the event:
Today's seminar is a historic moment for the development of our University. May I remind you that on 15 April 2021, I organised a similar seminar dedicated to offshore wind energy. Since then, we have launched offshore-related study programmes in all faculties and are currently one of the most important players in the field, largely thanks to environmental research carried out by the GMU Maritime Institute in connection with offshore wind energy projects.
Today, we face another challenge and set another goal to achieve. Autonomous Shipping. Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS) are already in operation. Today's discussion will focus more widely on autonomous shipping, an area still awaiting international standardisation in terms of its technology, but perhaps more noticeably in its legal aspects; economical, ecological and safety considerations in order to allow autonomous ships to move freely throughout the world's waters.
The Rector drew attention to the special mission and tasks of the University as a maritime higher education institution, which must maintain all current marine-based fields of operation within the scope of its activities and development, whilst also turning an eye to the future of marine enterprise.
Autonomous sailing is currently under development at universities around the world, with departments and institutes being established. The seminar aimed to determine the directions for Gdynia Maritime University in this area.
At this stage, it is important to identify potential areas of interest within autonomous shipping and those specialists that already have tangible experience in these areas, as well as those who are interested in becoming experts in these areas in the near future.
Participants discussed several aspects connected with the launch of MASS-dedicated study programmes at the University. The discussion focused on a variety of issues concerning education in autonomous shipping, but also the needs of the market and the associated legislative processes and logistics facilities required for the University to develop in this direction.
The faculty members in attendance at the seminar agreed that the measure of the University's success in this new academic field will be the close cooperation of all GMU faculties and the involvement of a team of experts from different scientific fields.
Attention was drawn to the particularly favourable location of our University, as well as its vessels, which may be used for training and simulation in the Bay of Gdansk.
Experts taking part in the seminar drew attention to the need to cooperate with business and international organisations, including the IMO and IAMU. It was highlighted that cooperation with business also meant confronting plans for the development of this new area of activity at the University with the actual needs of industry.
Summarising the first seminar at GMU dedicated to matters related to autonomous shipping, Rector Professor Adam Weintrit said that the global shipping industry will need unmanned vessel operation specialists, and the launch of study programmes to produce such specialists may result in the interest of students from all over Europe in our University.
The Rector's plenipotentiary for Autonomous Shipping is Professor Zbigniew Burciu. There are plans for representatives of the business world associated with MASS to take part in the next GMU seminar dedicated to autonomous shipping.
