Nautical and naval engineering: an Italian leadership to preserve

ingegneria-navaleOn Friday July 15th a national convention called “Nautical and naval engineering. An Italian leadership to preserve” will take place in La Spezia (Sala Dante, via Ugo Bassi). The convention, organized by the City of La Spezia, the University of Genoa and Promostudi, will be about the educational institutions related to the nautical industry in Italy. Universities, research and industries will share their insights with the Minister of Education, University and Research, Stefania Giannini on the need of a relaunch of the nautical academic disciplines in our country.
Speakers will include exponents from both the local and national institutions, such as Massimo Federici, Major of La Spezia, Marco Doria, Major of Genoa, as Massimo Caleo and Vito Vattuone from the Senate of the Republic, and Mara Carocci from the House of Representatives.
The role of Universities and Research Corporations will be explored thanks to the talks by Deans from various Italian Universities, such as Paolo Comanducci from the University of Genoa, Maurizio Fermeglia from the University of Trieste, Gaetano Manfredi from the University Federico II of Naples, and representatives and presidents for research institutions such as Emilio F. Campana of CNR INSEAN, Dino Nascetti of Promostudi, Lorenzo Forcieri of DLTM, and more.
The current perspectives of the nautical industry, on the other hand, will be presented by the main representatives of the national nautical industry, including: Francesca Cozzani, President of Confindustria La Spezia; Giuseppe Bono, Managing Director of Fincantieri;  Vincenzo Poerio, Managing Director of Azimut Benetti;  Stefano Tortora, Chief of the Genio Navale Marina Militare; Michele Francioni, Managing Director of RINA; Franco Porcellacchia, Vicepresident of Carnival Corporation. Cesario Mondelli, President of Ancanap, Carla Demaria, President of Ucina, Lamberto Tacoli, President of Nautica Italiana, Emanuele Grimaldi, President of Confitarma, Paolo D’Amico, President of the Federazione del Mare, will also attend the convention.
Current students of the degree courses related to the nautical industry will also give their contribution, showing their point of view upon the matter through a video create by the University Centre of La Spezia, UNIGE, UniNapoli, and UniTrieste.
The Minister of Education, University and Research Stefania Giannini will conclude the convention with her speech.
The promoters of the event so presented the upcoming convention: “The issue of preserving and relaunch the Italian leadership in the disciplines of nautical and naval engineer is not an ordinary one and It asks for non-ordinary answers. How can a country like Italy, with its naval history, with its still important role in the global shipbuilding and nautical sector renounce investing in the education and academic research related to the nautical industry? How can it jeopardize, through a blind policy of reduction of the turn-over of university professors, a presence that should be considered strategic in the industrial policy of a country? The academic world, the industry of the sector and politics must commit together to look for and find a solution. For this reason the idea of a national convention promoted by the City of La Spezia, the University of Genoa and Promostudi was born, to gather in La Spezia the main Italian realities in Universities, research centres and the industry.
Right from La Spezia we ask for this act of taking responsibility for the start of a strategy on the connections among Universities, research and industrial policies in our country.”