Marine industry experts washed ashore at the Naantali Marine Network Days
Marine Network Days were held in Naantali at the end of March, and the S4M project was also involved. Read about the day from the students’ perspective!
Our early morning began with a bus ride towards Naantali Spa, where the Marine Network Days were held on March 27, 2025. We arrived at around 8 AM, after which we registered for the event and prepared our stand. At our stand, experts Suvi Kivelä and Juha Valtanen from Turku University of Applied Sciences were simultaneously presenting the LeaderShip project. After preparations, we headed to the conference hall, where we got to hear interesting speeches from representatives of various companies. Here are a few highlights of the most memorable topics.
The seminar was opened by Ilkka Rytkölä from Meyer, who introduced us to Meyer’s current operations and future plans. We were particularly impressed by the presentation of the Icon of the Sea cruise ship and the NEcOLEAP flagship project, which is developing a climate-neutral cruise ship. The speech included a suitable touch of humor, engaged the audience through questions, and provided a good foundation for the seminar and the following speakers.
The second speech we want to highlight is by Pia Satopää, a lecturer at Turku University of Applied Sciences, on the topic of cybersecurity and its management among maritime cluster operators. The presentation was overall very interesting, and we learned how many stakeholders the topic affects in the marine industry, as well as the challenges and management methods that exist. Overall, we were surprised by how broad the topic of cybersecurity is.
Last but not least, we want to highlight the speech by Jussi Mälkiä, CEO of Meriaura Oy. Our attention was particularly drawn to the process through which cooking oil can be used to produce biofuel and how much it can reduce emissions from sea transport. It was also interesting to hear how the company has been a pioneer in stopping the discharge of ship wastewater into the Baltic Sea.
After the seminar, we enjoyed a delicious lunch with the beautiful scenery of Naantali. During lunch, we had the opportunity to network with the experts at our table and engage in interesting discussions. After coffee and cake, we headed back to the event area to present the S4M project.
The project manager of the project, Heli Aramo-Immonen, made an appearance at the Marine Network Days and also answered questions from attendees at our stand. The Marine Network Days were the first stand event for us student assistants, so there was some excitement in the air! Despite the nervousness, we were able to talk to people interested in the project and introduce it to those who were not familiar with it. We also had the opportunity to explore the event area, visit the stands of other company representatives, engage in captivating discussions, spin the wheel of fortune, and get to know many new companies. The diversity of the fields also pleasantly surprised us. In the end, we successfully presented the project and went home richer in experience.
Authors:
Emma Jokilammi, student assistant, Turku University of Applied Sciences
Adesuwa Okunhon, student assistant, Turku University of Applied Sciences