Tommi Inkinen

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Digitalization is strongly present in the current Maritime Studies of the Baltic Sea atthe University of TurkuTommi InkinenProfessorBrahea CentreCentre for Maritime StudiesUniversity of TurkuFinlandtommi.inkinen@utu.fiMaritime studies are doing very well at the South-West Finland today. Centre for Maritime Studies (CMS) isan international education and research unit that is an integral part of Brahea Centre of the University ofTurku. CMS offers diverse research agenda in the fields of maritime industries and logistics for public andprivate sector organizations. An important factor in the maritime research profile of the University of Turkuis the current strong drive in multimodal transportation digitalization, automation and IT management.Autonomous, including remotely operated, shipping is one of the main areas in our current research.For the future university research the main objective is to conduct high quality studies that have bothacademic significance as well as applications. The research focuses both on academic (basic) and appliedresearch linked with practice. The scientific research is multidisciplinary combining business studies andeconomics together with environmental and social sciences. CMS research agenda also highlights the roleof a research integrator in maritime research. We have specialists in traffic and ports in the Baltic Sea,logistics chains and infrastructure, and in marine industry sector. The results produced are alwayspresented in such a way that the stakeholders can make use of them in the most efficient manner.Economy, market, and business environment monitoring is one of our key focuses. We are alsoconcentrating in research and development projects related to the environmental issues of shipping andports, especially to the benefits and costs of emission restrictions. We coordinate interdisciplinaryenvironmental research supporting marine spatial planning and integrated coastal zone management. Weapply our extensive collaboration network to support both national and international networks andpartnerships. A number of them are found in the Baltic Sea Region (BSR). For example, our partnership inMerikotka network, combining the excellence of Aalto University’s marine technology, and University ofHelsinki’s environmental studies, strengthens our national and international activities.Currently, CMS focuses on the following research spearheads: First, shipping and maritime logisticsincluding research tasks concerning maritime transport (volumes and contents), infrastructure, portnetworks and port operations. Digitalization is strongly present on these topics and CMS currentlyparticipates a number of related BSR-wide projects. Other key-areas of research are maritime safety andpilotage operations. Second, research on economics and societal impacts of maritime cluster focuses on thedevelopment and future prospects of marine industries, related cluster dynamics and their economicimpacts. In this regard, corporate social responsibility in shipping operations together with studies focusingon Blue Growth are acknowledged. Third, the theme of marine environment and spatial planning includesanalyses on efficiency and impacts of environmental regulations in shipping. Therefore, environmentalstatus of ports and marine spatial planning are significance study topics associated with shipping andoffshore activities in the Arctic and their performance and impact of the European ports system. These areintegrated into knowledge-base and management system analyses.The three spearheads require methodological diversity and triangulation. Therefore, both qualitative andquantitative approaches are applied in CMS research projects in concert. This applies not only to theresearch itself but also education demands of universities. The future generations of professionals workingin the maritime sector require broad skill sets including know-how of technology, economy andmanagement. The most important methods include combinations of data mining, statistical modeling andqualitative tools. Methodological proficiency is the key-feature in all our projects and research designs.From these foundations CMS and the University of Turku has created a track record in the maritime studiesfocusing on the Baltic Sea and BSR. We aim to develop and apply four main steps in our research. Theseinclude steps starting from the project creation, planning phase, project execution, and result monitoringtogether with continuous development of research agenda. In this process, the structuring of the researchdesign and project management is paramount, and extensive BSR wide collaboration networks are needed.Finally, knowledge dissemination with all the relevant media channels, together with an output and impactmonitoring continue to be focal points in the University of Turku’s strategic research profile of maritimestudies.

Digitalization is strongly present in the current Maritime Studies of the Baltic Sea at the University of Turku

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Digitalization is strongly present in the current Maritime Studies of the Baltic Sea at the University of Turku

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