About IAMU

The International Association of Maritime Universities IAMU is a global network of leading maritime universities providing Maritime Education and Training (MET) for seafarers for the global shipping industry.

The IAMU association was founded in 1999 by seven maritime universities from five continents brought together by a common recognition of the importance of maritime education and training in the face of the rapid globalisation of international shipping in the 21st century. During the Annual General Assembly of the IAMU (AGA IAMU) in 2020, 21 maritime higher education institutions, including Gdynia Maritime University, were admitted to the new organisation.

The Association currently comprises 74 members from 39 countries, including Europe and Africa (44), Asia, Pacific and Oceania (18), Americas (10), as well as two special members (World Maritime University in Malmo and the Nippon Foundation), who meet the requirements of higher maritime education at levels 1, 2, and 3.

The main sponsor of the IAMU is the Japanese non-profit Nippon Foundation, which supports the association's statutory activities, including through the award of research grants. The chair of the Nippon Foundation, Dr Yohei Sasakawa, holds the role of IAMU chair.

Since 2007, the IAMU has held the status of a Non-Governmental International Organization (NGO) representing the academic maritime community, authorised to participate in sessions of the IMO, a UN agency based in London.

For the term of office 2023-2025, the general Chair of the  International Association of Maritime Universities (IAMU), and the Head of the Policy and Planning Committee is GMU President Professor Adam Weintrit.