Category Archives for "Speakers"

Vice-Rector for Research and International Cooperation
Odesa National Maritime University

Iryna Savelieva is the Vice-Rector for Research and International Cooperation at Odesa National Maritime University, where she oversees international projects, scientific development, and institutional partnerships. With extensive experience in maritime education and university governance, she leads initiatives focused on youth employability, sustainable transport, port security, and digital transformation in higher education.

Iryna is the coordinator of the EU-funded project Empowering Blue and Smart Transformation of the Black Sea Basin (Blue Gates), which focuses on fostering innovation and collaboration in the blue economy sector.

She is actively engaged in promoting the participation of women in maritime sectors and advocates for rebuilding Ukraine’s coastal and port systems with a strong emphasis on equity and resilience.

Assistant Professor (Research/Ocean Sustainability, Governance & Management)
World Maritime University

Dr. Aspasia Pastra has been appointed Assistant Professor at the World Maritime University-Sasakawa Global Ocean Institute in Malmö, Sweden. She is extensively involved in cutting-edge research and teaching focused on ocean and maritime governance, policy frameworks, and the role of emerging technologies in addressing the triple planetary crisis. Dr. Pastra’s work lies at the intersection of ocean governance, industry, and science. She has actively participated in high-impact EU-funded and governmental research projects that address critical challenges in ocean governance and technological innovation.

Dr. Pastra holds a B.Sc. in Public Administration from Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences in Greece, an MBA from Cardiff University in the UK, and an MSc in Maritime Administration from the World Maritime University. She earned her PhD in Corporate Governance from Brunel University in London. She was also appointed as a postdoctoral fellow in the European Union Horizon 2020 programme-funded project titled Overcoming Regulatory Barriers for Service Robotics in an Ocean Industry Context.

Chief Executive Officer
Transport Education Training Authority, South Africa

Maphefo Anno-Frempong is an Enterprise Development and Empowerment specialist, a sought-after public speaker, minister of the gospel, and a qualified neurolinguistic science business and life coach. She has a passion for the development of disenfranchised youth, women, men and entrepreneurs across the spectrum. I am a coach with a passion for youth development, women and entrepreneurs across the spectrum. As a strategic thinker and a corporate governance expert, she has extensive experience in leading and inspiring consummate professionals to plan, execute, and deliver innovative and impactful programmes in the transport sector in South Africa.

She has a natural flair for stakeholder engagement that gives her a competitive advantage to partner with a variety of role players in the private and public sector organisations. Maphefo has more than 33 years of experience in the public sector spanning over 23 years in different leadership roles in Transport Regulation, Curriculum Development, Educator Development and Leadership Programme Development, Enterprise Development, Road Safety and Skills Development. The following reflect a summary of her strategic service; Mpumalanga Department of Education, National Department of Education, National Department of Transport, North West Department of Transport, Roads and Community Safety. She is currently the CEO of Transport Education Training Authority.

Director, Technical Cooperation and Implementation Division
International Maritime Organization

Dr. Jose Matheickal is the Director of the Technical Cooperation and Implementation Division (TCID) at the International Maritime Organization (IMO), a specialized agency of the United Nations. He reports to the Secretary General.

Jose is responsible for four sub-divisions dealing with the IMO member state audit and implementation, planning and programming of the IMO’s technical cooperation efforts,maritime development in developing regions through capacity development and resource mobilization and partnership building to support the technical assistance function of IMO.

Since joining IMO, Jose was involved in IMO’s technical cooperation programmes and major technical cooperation projects, as Chief Technical Adviser, specifically focusing on building capacity in developing countries to address
emerging marine environmental issues. He then led the IMO’s Department of Partnerships and Projects where he spearheaded IMO’s efforts to enhance its partnership and resource mobilization efforts, promote innovation and
develop the portfolio of major technical cooperation projects to support IMO’s technical cooperation function.

Dr. Matheickal is an ex officio member of the executive board of the World Maritime University (WMU). He also founded the innovative Global Industry Alliance, a flagship public-private partnership initiative of IMO.

Dr. Matheickal did his civil and environmental engineering at Kerala University, India before pursuing his post-graduate studies in Environmental Engineering at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur and then at Griffith University, Australia as a Sir John Crawford PhD Scholar. He also holds an MBA in Technology Management. He has over 100 scientific publications and an international patent to his credit. His key areas of interest include maritime innovation, maritime training, blue economy, climate change mitigation, green financing, capacity building projects and technology transfer.

Nippon Foundation Professorial Chair in Gender and Innovation; Head, Maritime Education & Training
World Maritime University

Professor Momoko Kitada is a former seafarer and was awarded a PhD in Social Science from Cardiff University, UK. She joined WMU in 2011 and serves as Full Professor and Head of Maritime Education and Training (MET). She coordinates and teaches in other MSc specializations, including Maritime Energy Management (MEM), as well as the Postgraduate Diploma in Maritime Energy and the Summer Academy on Maritime Decarbonization.

Dr. Kitada leads WMU’s collaboration efforts with the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in terms of women’s integration in the maritime sector. She is a certified Gender Audit Facilitator as well as a certified Monitoring and Evaluation expert. She works for IMO during the joint evaluation and internal audit of the IMO’s gender activities.

Dr. Kitada actively incorporates gender perspectives in her interdisciplinary teaching in maritime subjects, including maritime education and training, maritime energy management, sustainable development, capacity building, digitalization and innovation, and research methodology. She has 18-year research experience in gender equality in the maritime and ocean sectors. Dr. Kitada has a good track record of publications and serves as academic reviewers for scientific journals and referees of project fundings in various research institutions.

Research Associate
World Maritime University

Dr. Renis Auma Ojwala works as a Post-doctoral Research Associate at the World Maritime University (WMU), where she focuses on fostering crew sustainability in the maritime industry. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Applied Aquatic Science from Egerton University in Kenya, a Master of Science in Limnology and Wetland Management from a joint program between BOKU University (Austria), Egerton University (Kenya), and UNESCO-IHE Delft (The Netherlands), and a PhD in Maritime Affairs from WMU.

As a proud WMU alumnus, Renis has dedicated her work to advancing gender equality in ocean science, particularly in Kenya. She played a pivotal role in the “Empowering Women for the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development” project, demonstrating her commitment to equity in ocean science fields. Renis also contributed to the development of Gender Strategic and Action Plan, "Towards Gender Equality in Ocean Science and Governance," a visionary framework aimed at fostering inclusivity and promoting a more equitable, sustainable ocean in the future.

Her research spans critical areas in aquatic and maritime sciences, with a strong emphasis on diversity and gender equality in ocean science, maritime, and fisheries sectors. With her international academic background and interdisciplinary expertise, Renis offers fresh perspectives on global oceanic challenges, driving innovative solutions that promote gender parity and sustainable development in the maritime industry. Showcasing her research expertise, Renis has authored multiple studies in renowned, peer-reviewed international journals.

Associate Professor; Head of Maritime Law and Policy Specialization
World Maritime University

Dr. María Carolina Romero Lares has been a member of the Faculty of Law at the World Maritime University since 2011 and currently serves as the Head of the Maritime Law and Policy Specialization. She received her Law degree from the Andrés Bello Catholic University in Venezuela and an LL.M. degree from Tulane University in the U.S. before earning a Ph.D. with honors (cum laude) from Leibniz Universität Hannover in Germany.

Dr. Romero’s academic career began in 2005 when she joined the Venezuelan Maritime University as a part-time professor. In addition to her teaching duties, she served as Coordinator at the International Affairs Office of the Venezuelan Maritime Administration. She later became the Head of that office and represented her country at several international meetings at the International Maritime Organization and the International Oil Pollution Funds in London.

With firsthand professional experience both as a delegate at international forums representing her homeland and in the classroom, Dr. Romero brings a unique perspective to the Maritime Law and Policy Specialization. She lectures on International Organizations and Maritime Conventions, the Law of the Sea, and the Protection of the Marine Environment and oversees these courses. In addition, she organizes the annual Moot Court Competition, which focuses on current issues of the Law of the Sea, along with a field study trip to The Hague and Hamburg. She has also been invited to lecture at the IFLOS Summer Academy at ITLOS in Hamburg, Germany.

Dr. Romero places great importance on cooperation activities with Latin America and the Caribbean and has already organized two regional conferences there: the “Maritime and Port Sectors in the Americas: Challenges and Opportunities in Light of the SDGs” conference in Lima, Peru in 2017 and the “Second Regional Conference: Maritime Transport and Ocean Policies: Regional Perspectives for the Americas” in Veracruz, Mexico in 2019.

President
Fundación Náutica Marítima del Perú

Captain Jesus Menacho has worked for over 20 years at the General Directorate of Captaincies and Coastguards – Maritime Authority of Peru. Before his retirement, he held the positions of Director of Surveys, Audits and Port State Control Inspections; Chief of Staff at Coastguard Operations Command, Director of International Affairs and IMO, and Director of Policies, Regulations and Integrated Management Systems. Besides, he served as a Staff Officer, Second Commander, and Commander of several Coast Guard, Hydrographic, and Naval units.

He has further experience as an IMO IMSAS Auditor, Flag State Statutory Inspector, Port State Control Officer, and ISPS/ISM Lead Auditor. He has been recognised as part of the list of competent persons maintained by the IMO Secretary-General under the STCW Convention. He also has vast experience in seafarer matters, as an Independent Auditor for maritime administrations under the STCW Convention and as a maritime inspector and International Instructor of the ILO Maritime Labour Convention (MLC 2006).

He has a wealth of teaching experience, including lecturing on maritime international affairs and IMO issues for more than 15 years in different nautical academies and universities, acting as Professor of the Special Course on “Naval Surveillance Operations at Sea” at the International Institute of Humanitarian Law of San Remo (IIHL), and Permanent Professor of the Maritime Law Specialisation Programme at the University of Piura (UDEP). The IMO recognises him as an International Trainer and External Consultant under the Integrated Technical Cooperation Programme (ITCP).

In ocean affairs and Law of the Sea, he was Peru’s delegate to the 2023 Conference on the Agreement under the UNCLOS on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement), in New York.

He served as Naval Attaché to the Peruvian Embassy in Singapore and Indonesia, and Liaison Officer at the Information Fusion Centre of the Singapore Navy, under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

He is the founder and President of the Nautical Maritime Foundation of Peru, whose primary purpose is maritime education, promoting, strengthening, and disseminating maritime consciousness and internalising it as an identity of all Peruvians.

Bachelor and Graduate in Maritime and Naval Sciences from the Naval Academy of Peru in 1996. Specialised in Coastguard and Captaincies, and Hydrography and Navigation. Graduated from the Command and General Staff Program at Naval War College. Master of Science in Maritime Affairs at the World Maritime University (WMU) and Specialist in International Maritime Law at the Spanish Maritime Institute.

Director of Skills and Education
Lloyd’s Register Foundation

Tim Slingsby is responsible for building and leading a substantial and diverse portfolio of international programmes and activities to maximise impact in line with the Foundation’s charitable mission.

He is a highly-skilled science and engineering education specialist and science communicator with extensive understanding of working in academia and in both private and public sectors. He possesses wide-ranging experience of international science and engineering education agendas and providing strategic oversight of high-impact and engaging initiatives. He has been a researcher in industry and academia following his PhD in molecular genetics from the University of Leicester. He is also serving as the Chair of the Maritime Charities Group.

Director of Cruise Operations
Norwegian Seafarers’ Union (NSU)

Lena Dyring is the Director of Cruise Operations at the Norwegian Seafarers’ Union (NSU), where she oversees collective bargaining agreements for seafarers in the cruise industry. She currently serves as the chair of the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) Cruise Ship Task Force, focusing on improving working conditions for cruise ship workers globally. Previously, Dyring was the women’s representative on the ITF Seafarers’ Section, advocating for the rights of women seafarers. Based in Oslo, Norway, she has been actively involved in promoting gender equality within the maritime sector and has participated in various initiatives and events aimed at supporting women in shipping.