IAMU AGA 2026: Gdynia Maritime University at the 26th IAMU Annual General Assembly in Split

The conference accompanying this year's Assembly took place under the theme ‘Human-centred digital oceans: Educating safe & green global maritime professionals’. It addressed the education and training of maritime personnel in the era of digitalisation, automation, and the energy transition in shipping. IAMU currently brings together 83 maritime universities from around the world, with Gdynia Maritime University actively participating in its work for many years.

The GMU delegation comprised: the Rector of Gdynia Maritime University, Professor Adam Weintrit; GMU’s IAMU Contact Person, Dr Adam Przybyłowski; Director of the Maritime Operations Department, Master Mariner Dariusz Jellonnek; Professor Andrzej Stateczny; Dr Kamil Formela; Dr Katarzyna Skrzeszewska; Master Mariner Paweł Kołakowski; Katarzyna Gaul; and GMU doctoral candidate Weronika Ceynowa.

Official Proceedings

The Assembly opened on Wednesday 7 October with an official ceremony in the Cellars of Diocletian's Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Attendees were welcomed by:

• Professor Ivan Peronja, Dean of the host faculty,
• Professor Nikola Koceić-Bilan, Rector of the University of Split,
• Professor Shan Hongjun, Chair of IAMU and President of Dalian Maritime University,
• representatives of municipal authorities, the Split-Dalmatia County, the Government of Croatia, and the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA).

On the same day, the President's Forum took place, attended exclusively by the heads of member institutions or their official plenipotentiaries. This was followed by a plenary session of the Annual General Assembly (AGA) and presentations of research projects funded by IAMU. During the AGA proceedings, announcements were made regarding the admission of new member institutions to the Association: Kalmar Maritime Academy (Linnaeus University, Sweden) and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan University (Türkiye). The hosts of the upcoming assemblies were also announced:

• AGA27 in 2027: John B. Lacson Foundation Maritime University in Iloilo (Philippines),
• AGA28: Fisheries and Marine Institute of Memorial University of Newfoundland (Canada).

IAMU Regional Division

During the plenary session, the reform of the Association's regional structure was addressed. In view of the size of Region I (Europe and Africa), which accounts for more than 50 of the 82 member institutions, the International Executive Board (IEB) proposed dividing it into two regions based on the UN geoscheme. Under this proposal, Poland would be placed in a new Eastern Europe and Western Asia region. Reservations regarding this proposal, supported by representatives of the Maritime University of Szczecin, were raised by the Rector of GMU, Professor Adam Weintrit. He pointed out that Poland should remain in the same region as EU member states, including partners from the Baltic Sea region with whom the University closely collaborates. These arguments were accepted: the existing division into three regions remains unchanged, and Region I will have two representatives on the International Executive Board.

Research Project and GMU Experts in the IAMU Grant System

Gdynia Maritime University is among the partners of one of four research projects to be funded by IAMU in 2027. These were selected from 54 proposals submitted in an open call for all academic staff. The project, entitled ‘Socio-Economic Assessment of Shore Power Pathways under the IMO Net-Zero Framework’, addresses the socio-economic evaluation of onshore power supply for ships within the International Maritime Organization's Net-Zero framework, with a budget of nearly USD 60,000.

It was also announced that researchers from the University served as project evaluators. Dr Andrzej Łebkowski and Dr Adam Przybyłowski evaluated grant applications for 2027. Dr Agnieszka Lazarowska received a Certificate of Recognition for evaluating the final reports of projects carried out in 2025.

IAMUC 2026 Conference

The IAMUC 2026 scientific conference took place on Thursday and Friday, 8–9 October. Over one hundred papers were presented during the parallel and poster sessions, including contributions from University representatives:

Papers:

• ‘Assessment of the Effectiveness of the MLC 2006 in Enforcing Seafarers’ Rights in the Global and Digital Labour Market’
  Katarzyna Skrzeszewska, Dariusz Jellonnek (Policy 1: Maritime Governance, Regulation, Safety and Digitalization session)
• ‘Food service quality as a human-centred operational indicator in maritime training vessels’
  Weronika Ceynowa, Adam Przybyłowski (Economic 1: Maritime Transport Economics, Efficiency and Sustainable Development session)

Posters:

• ‘Navigating the competency void: Identifying shortfalls between Maritime Training and operating with Wind Assisted Propulsion Systems’
  Katarzyna Gaul, Sambor Guze, Artur Sylwestrzak
• ‘Intelligent Anti-collision System for Unmanned Surface Vessels Based on Short-Range 3D Automotive Radar’
  Andrzej Stateczny, Agnieszka Lazarowska, Monika Rybczak
• ‘Rank and Experience as Determinants of Safe Passing Distance in Simulator-Based Environment[s]’
  Kamil Formela, Paweł Kołakowski

Campus Visit

The programme concluded on Saturday with a technical tour of the University of Split campus and the premises of the Faculty of Maritime Studies, where participants visited simulator facilities used in the training of future maritime officers.

Looking Ahead

In July 2027, the IAMU Student Forum 2027 will take place at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) headquarters in London, providing students from member institutions, including GMU, with an opportunity to participate in an international debate on the future of the maritime sector.