Fincantieri and the University of Genoa launch 4 PhD projects

Within the framework of the convention signed last November by Paolo Comanducci, Dean of the Genoa University and Giuseppe Bono, CEO of the Fincantieri Group, to promote and fund experimental and educational projects in the naval field, the parties signed agreements to start four 3-year PhD projects. The initiative envisages an overall investment by Fincantieri of more than 250,000 euros related to the completion of the projects.

The two parties have agreed the topics of the projects reflecting the trends of the worldwide naval panorama, as well as the specific interests of the Fincantieri Naval Vessels Business Unit. Notably, these refer to:

• study of risks and techniques related to cybersecurity on board of vessels and in production sites
• strategies and methods for hull weight reduction in line with the most recent developments of rule requirements for ship structural design and analysis
• study of design tools and methods for on board power systems

The Chancellor of the University of Genoa, Prof. Paolo Comanducci, stated: “We are very pleased with this further cooperation initiative with Fincantieri, which follows the signature of the framework agreement in the last November, confirming the excellent relationship between the University and the Company; this confirmation is even more important considering the delicate situation that our country is experiencing. The research topics identified with Fincantieri are, in line with recent trend, both traditional research activities in naval architecture and marine engineering and activities related to other areas, such as electrical engineering and cyber-security.  This confirms the importance of the strategy of jointly implementing different multidisciplinary skills that is taking place in the University of Genoa through the establishment of the Strategic Centres, with the recent consolidation of the Centre of the Sea, born last year, and the next launch of further initiatives, including also the field of security”.

The CEO of Fincantieri, Giuseppe Bono, stated: “Issues such as hull structures weight reduction have significant impacts on improving the performance and efficiency of ships, not to mention today's essential requirement to the need to offer a clear solution of cybersecurity to our customers and to use in our production and engineering sites. We are therefore excited to start these Phds, which represent the highest level of training in the organization of the university studies system, offering young people with an already solid background the opportunity to gain distinguishing expertise in specific fields of strong scientific, technological, social and economic relevance". Bono concluded: “In an extremely difficult moment like the one we are experiencing, Fincantieri continues to invest in the future by focusing on research, innovation and skills”.

The enhancement of the partnership between the University of Genoa and the Fincantieri group further strengthens the value of an already ongoing cooperation aimed at increasing the competitiveness of the Italian shipbuilding industry on the global market. The scope of this partnership carries out the most specific fields of naval architecture and marine engineering (such as hydrodynamics, hull scantling and marine systems), with continuous improvement and integration thanks to the most modern enabling technologies. This view has led to extensive cooperation with other engineering segments (such as the use of fuel cell technology, the study of solutions towards the “all electric ship”, the extensive application of digital technology, high levels of automation, cybersecurity). In addition to these specialized issues, it is of top importance the development of systemic methods which guarantee the complex ship system the “emerging properties” called for by an increasingly demanding market in terms of high performance and competitiveness.